Secretary of the Interior et al. v. California et al.
Decided January 11, 1984. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 82-1326 · 464 U.S. 312 (1984) · Cited 178 times
Holding
Interior's sale of OCS oil and gas leases is not an activity "directly affecting" the coastal zone within the meaning of 307(c)(1), and thus a consistency review is not required under that section before such sales are made.
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 5–4.
Majority · 5
- Sandra Day O'Connor · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Warren Earl Burger
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Dissenting · 4
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- John Paul Stevens · filed a dissenting opinion
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
“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. Harriss · 347 U.S. 612 (1954)
- Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman · 451 U.S. 1 (1981)
- Watt v. Alaska · 451 U.S. 259 (1981)
- Bob Jones University v. United States · 461 U.S. 574 (1983)
- Sunshine Anthracite Coal Co. v. Adkins · 310 U.S. 381 (1940)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation v. Abramson · 456 U.S. 615 (1982)
- Philbrook v. Glodgett · 421 U.S. 707 (1975)
- American Textile Manufacturers Institute, Inc. v. Donovan · 452 U.S. 490 (1981)
- Mercantile Nat. Bank at Dallas v. Langdeau · 371 U.S. 555 (1963)
- Bell v. New Jersey · 461 U.S. 773 (1983)
- Andrus v. Shell Oil Co. · 446 U.S. 657 (1980)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Amoco Production Co. v. Village of Gambell · 480 U.S. 531 (1987)
- Bowsher v. Synar · 478 U.S. 714 (1986)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1984). 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).