Ray, Governor of Washington, et al. v. Atlantic Richfield Co. et al.

Decided March 6, 1978. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 76-930 · 435 U.S. 151 (1978) · Cited 588 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“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.

• Kelly v. Washington Ex Rel. Foss Co. · 302 U.S. 1 (1937)
• Huron Portland Cement Co. v. City of Detroit · 362 U.S. 440 (1960)
• Hines v. Davidowitz · 312 U.S. 52 (1941)
• Florida Lime & Avocado Growers, Inc. v. Paul · 373 U.S. 132 (1963)
• De Canas v. Bica · 424 U.S. 351 (1976)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Douglas v. Seacoast Products, Inc. · 431 U.S. 265 (1977)
• Manchester v. Massachusetts · 139 U.S. 240 (1891)
• Smith v. Maryland · 59 U.S. 71 (1855)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc. · 397 U.S. 137 (1970)
• Jones v. Rath Packing Co. · 430 U.S. 519 (1977)
• Silver v. New York Stock Exchange · 373 U.S. 341 (1963)
• City of Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal, Inc. · 411 U.S. 624 (1973)
• New York Central Railroad Company v. Winfield · 244 U.S. 147 (1916)
• Napier v. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad · 272 U.S. 605 (1926)
• Bethlehem Steel Co. v. New York State Labor Relations Board · 330 U.S. 767 (1947)
• Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. v. Ware · 414 U.S. 117 (1973)
• Cloverleaf Butter Co. v. Patterson, Commissioner of Agriculture & Industries · 315 U.S. 148 (1942)
• Charleston & Western Carolina Railway Co. v. Varnville Furniture Co. · 237 U.S. 597 (1915)
• Southern Railway Co. v. Railroad Commission of Indiana · 236 U.S. 439 (1915)
• Pennsylvania Railroad v. Public Service Commission · 250 U.S. 566 (1919)
• Anderson v. Pacific Coast Steamship Co. · 225 U.S. 187 (1912)
• Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad · 393 U.S. 129 (1968)

Cited by

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

• United States v. Locke · 529 U.S. 89 (2000)
• Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine · 537 U.S. 51 (2002)
• Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 465 U.S. 89 (1984)
• Freightliner Corp. v. Myrick · 514 U.S. 280 (1995)
• Toll v. Moreno · 458 U.S. 1 (1982)
• Shaw v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. · 463 U.S. 85 (1983)
• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• Southland Corp. v. Keating · 465 U.S. 1 (1984)
• Maryland v. Louisiana · 451 U.S. 725 (1981)
• City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey · 437 U.S. 617 (1978)
• Edgar v. Mite Corp. · 457 U.S. 624 (1982)
• Golden State Transit Corp. v. City of Los Angeles · 493 U.S. 103 (1989)
• Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc. · 489 U.S. 141 (1989)
• City of Milwaukee v. Illinois · 451 U.S. 304 (1981)
• International Paper Co. v. Ouellette · 479 U.S. 481 (1987)
• Jones v. United States · 529 U.S. 848 (2000)
• Capital Cities Cable, Inc. v. Crisp · 467 U.S. 691 (1984)
• CTS Corp. v. Dynamics Corp. of America · 481 U.S. 69 (1987)
• Community Communications Co. v. City of Boulder · 455 U.S. 40 (1982)
• Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. v. Arkansas Public Service Commission · 461 U.S. 375 (1983)
• New York Telephone Co. v. New York State Department of Labor · 440 U.S. 519 (1979)

Official text

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

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).