Tidewater Oil Co. v. United States et al.
Decided December 6, 1972. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 71-366 · 409 U.S. 151 (1972) · Cited 133 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.
Majority · 5
- Thurgood Marshall · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Warren Earl Burger
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
Concurring · 1
- Byron Raymond White · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 3
- Potter Stewart · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
- William Orville Douglas · filed a dissenting opinion
“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.
- Brown Shoe Co. v. United States · 370 U.S. 294 (1962)
- United States v. California Coöperative Canneries · 279 U.S. 553 (1929)
- United States v. Singer Manufacturing Co. · 374 U.S. 174 (1963)
- Ford Motor Co. v. United States · 405 U.S. 562 (1972)
- United States Alkali Export Ass'n v. United States · 325 U.S. 196 (1945)
- De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. v. United States · 325 U.S. 212 (1945)
- United States v. Trans-Missouri Freight Assn. · 166 U.S. 290 (1897)
- United States v. Topco Associates, Inc. · 405 U.S. 596 (1972)
- Fourco Glass Co. v. Transmirra Products Corp. · 353 U.S. 222 (1957)
- United States v. E. C. Knight Co. · 156 U.S. 1 (1895)
- Harrison v. Northern Trust Co. · 317 U.S. 476 (1943)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Muniz v. Hoffman · 422 U.S. 454 (1975)
- Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Wilderness Society · 421 U.S. 240 (1975)
- Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation · 438 U.S. 726 (1978)
- McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co. · 427 U.S. 273 (1976)
- Keene Corp. v. United States · 508 U.S. 200 (1993)
- Finley v. United States · 490 U.S. 545 (1989)
- National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. New York · 413 U.S. 345 (1973)
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).