Shirley M. Molzof, Personal Representative of the Estate of Robert E. Molzof v. United States

Decided January 14, 1992. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 90-838 · 502 U.S. 301 (1992) · Cited 317 times

Holding

The Indian General Allotment Act of 1887 permits Yakima County to impose an ad valorem tax on reservation land patented in fee pursuant to the Act and owned by reservation Indians or the Yakima Indian Nation itself, but does not allow the county to enforce its excise tax on sales of such land.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Dalehite v. United States · 346 U.S. 15 (1953)
• Pacific Mutual Life Insurance v. Haslip · 499 U.S. 1 (1991)
• United States v. Muniz · 374 U.S. 150 (1963)
• Day v. Woodworth · 54 U.S. 363 (1852)
• Morissette v. United States · 342 U.S. 246 (1952)
• United States v. Gaubert · 499 U.S. 315 (1991)
• Berkovitz v. United States · 486 U.S. 531 (1988)
• United States v. S.A. Empresa De Viacao Aerea Rio Grandense · 467 U.S. 797 (1984)
• Richards v. United States · 369 U.S. 1 (1962)
• Indian Towing Co. v. United States · 350 U.S. 61 (1955)
• Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. · 464 U.S. 238 (1984)
• Browning-Ferris Industries of Vermont, Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc. · 492 U.S. 257 (1989)
• United States v. Orleans · 425 U.S. 807 (1976)
• United States v. Neustadt · 366 U.S. 696 (1961)
• United States v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. · 338 U.S. 366 (1949)
• Rayonier Inc. v. United States · 352 U.S. 315 (1957)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Amax Coal Co. · 453 U.S. 322 (1981)
• Sheridan v. United States · 487 U.S. 392 (1988)
• Braxton v. United States · 500 U.S. 344 (1991)
• Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co. v. Arms · 91 U.S. 489 (1876)
• Reconstruction Finance Corporation v. Beaver County · 328 U.S. 204 (1946)
• United States v. Spelar · 338 U.S. 217 (1949)

Cited by

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

• Kolstad v. American Dental Assn. · 527 U.S. 526 (1999)
• United States v. Burke · 504 U.S. 229 (1992)
• United States v. Shabani · 513 U.S. 10 (1994)
• Dolan v. United States Postal Service · 546 U.S. 481 (2006)
• Federal Aviation Administration v. Cooper · 566 U.S. 284 (2012)
• Beck v. Prupis · 529 U.S. 494 (2000)
• Whitfield v. United States · 543 U.S. 209 (2005)
• City of Edmonds v. Oxford House, Inc. · 514 U.S. 725 (1995)
• Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T Inc. · 562 U.S. 397 (2011)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1992). 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).