Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Pueblo of Santa Ana

Decided June 10, 1985. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 84-262 · 472 U.S. 237 (1985) · Cited 233 times

Holding

The conveyance of the easement was valid under 17 of the Pueblo Lands Act.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• United States v. Sandoval · 231 U.S. 28 (1913)
• United States v. Candelaria · 271 U.S. 432 (1926)
• Carpenter v. Shaw · 280 U.S. 363 (1930)
• Countyof Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of NY · 470 U.S. 226 (1985)
• United States v. Mitchell · 463 U.S. 206 (1983)
• Morton v. Ruiz · 415 U.S. 199 (1974)
• Oneida Indian Nation v. County of Oneida · 414 U.S. 661 (1974)
• Bryan v. Itasca County · 426 U.S. 373 (1976)
• Mattz v. Arnett · 412 U.S. 481 (1973)
• United States v. Santa Fe Pacific Railroad · 314 U.S. 339 (1942)
• Delaware Tribal Business Committee v. Weeks · 430 U.S. 73 (1977)
• Skidmore v. Swift & Co. · 323 U.S. 134 (1944)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Colautti v. Franklin · 439 U.S. 379 (1979)
• McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Commission · 411 U.S. 164 (1973)
• United States v. Locke · 471 U.S. 84 (1985)
• Federal Election Commission v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee · 454 U.S. 27 (1981)
• Norwegian Nitrogen Products Co. v. United States · 288 U.S. 294 (1933)
• Washington v. Washington State Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel Assn. · 443 U.S. 658 (1979)
• Montana v. Blackfeet Tribe of Indians · 471 U.S. 759 (1985)
• Zenith Radio Corp. v. United States · 437 U.S. 443 (1978)
• Menominee Tribe of Indians v. United States · 391 U.S. 404 (1968)
• Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation · 362 U.S. 99 (1960)
• Seminole Nation v. United States · 316 U.S. 286 (1942)
• United States v. National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. · 422 U.S. 694 (1975)
• Choctaw Nation v. United States · 318 U.S. 423 (1943)
• Tulee v. Washington · 315 U.S. 681 (1942)
• Arizona v. San Carlos Apache Tribe of Ariz. · 463 U.S. 545 (1983)
• Edward's Lessee v. Darby · 25 U.S. 206 (1827)
• United States v. Creek Nation · 295 U.S. 103 (1935)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Department of Revenue of Ore. v. ACF Industries, Inc. · 510 U.S. 332 (1994)
• United States Department of Energy v. Ohio · 503 U.S. 607 (1992)
• South Carolina v. Catawba Indian Tribe, Inc. · 476 U.S. 498 (1986)
• Dunn v. Commodity Futures Trading Commission · 519 U.S. 465 (1997)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).