United States Department of Energy v. Ohio, et al.

Decided April 21, 1992. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 90-1341 · 503 U.S. 607 (1992) · Cited 256 times

Holding

Congress has not waived the National Government’s sovereign immunity from liability for civil fines imposed by a State for past violations of the CWA or RCRA.

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 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.

• Hancock v. Train · 426 U.S. 167 (1976)
• Canadian Aviator, Ltd. v. United States · 324 U.S. 215 (1945)
• United States v. Mitchell · 445 U.S. 535 (1980)
• Ruckelshaus v. Sierra Club · 463 U.S. 680 (1983)
• Irwin v. Department of Veterans Affairs · 498 U.S. 89 (1990)
• United States v. Kubrick · 444 U.S. 111 (1979)
• Gully v. First Nat. Bank in Meridian · 299 U.S. 109 (1936)
• Verlinden B. v. v. Central Bank of Nigeria · 461 U.S. 480 (1983)
• Block v. North Dakota Ex Rel. Board of University & School Lands · 461 U.S. 273 (1983)
• Colautti v. Franklin · 439 U.S. 379 (1979)
• Hicks Ex Rel. Feiock v. Feiock · 485 U.S. 624 (1988)
• Crandon v. United States · 494 U.S. 152 (1990)
• Ardestani v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 502 U.S. 129 (1991)
• McNary v. Haitian Refugee Center, Inc. · 498 U.S. 479 (1991)
• Keifer & Keifer v. Reconstruction Finance Corp. · 306 U.S. 381 (1939)
• Interstate Commerce Commission v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers · 482 U.S. 270 (1987)
• Northcross v. Memphis Board of Education · 412 U.S. 427 (1973)
• McMahon v. United States · 342 U.S. 25 (1951)
• Penfield Co. v. Securities & Exchange Commission · 330 U.S. 585 (1947)
• Engel v. Davenport · 271 U.S. 33 (1926)
• Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Pueblo of Santa Ana · 472 U.S. 237 (1985)
• Eastern Transportation Co. v. United States · 272 U.S. 675 (1927)
• Franchise Tax Board v. United States Postal Service · 467 U.S. 512 (1984)
• Shell Oil Co. v. Iowa Department of Revenue · 488 U.S. 19 (1988)

Cited by

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

• United States v. IDAHO Ex Rel. DIRECTOR, IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES · 508 U.S. 1 (1993)
• New York v. United States · 505 U.S. 144 (1992)
• Smith v. City of Jackson · 544 U.S. 228 (2005)
• Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center · 568 U.S. 597 (2013)
• United States v. Williams · 514 U.S. 527 (1995)
• Alabama v. North Carolina · 560 U.S. 330 (2010)
• Richlin Security Service Co. v. Chertoff · 553 U.S. 571 (2008)

Official text

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

Explore from here

David Hackett Souter’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

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).