United States v. Gary Locke, Governor of Washington, et al.

Decided March 6, 2000. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 98-1701 · 529 U.S. 89 (2000) · Cited 468 times

Holding

Washington’s regulations regarding general navigation watch procedures, crew English language skills and training, and maritime casualty reporting are pre-empted by the comprehensive federal regulatory scheme governing oil tankers; these cases are remanded so the *Together with No.

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.

• Ray v. Atlantic Richfield Co. · 435 U.S. 151 (1978)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Sinnot v. Davenport · 63 U.S. 227 (1859)
• Askew v. American Waterways Operators, Inc. · 411 U.S. 325 (1973)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr · 518 U.S. 470 (1996)
• Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc. · 504 U.S. 374 (1992)
• Fidelity Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. De La Cuesta · 458 U.S. 141 (1982)
• Jones v. Rath Packing Co. · 430 U.S. 519 (1977)
• California v. ARC America Corp. · 490 U.S. 93 (1989)
• American Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Central Office Telephone, Inc. · 524 U.S. 214 (1998)
• Bethlehem Steel Co. v. New York State Labor Relations Board · 330 U.S. 767 (1947)
• City of New York v. Federal Communications Commission · 486 U.S. 57 (1988)
• Charleston & Western Carolina Railway Co. v. Varnville Furniture Co. · 237 U.S. 597 (1915)

Cited by

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

• Wyeth v. Levine · 555 U.S. 555 (2009)
• Cuomo v. Clearing House Ass'n, LLC · 557 U.S. 519 (2009)
• Chamber of Commerce of United States of America v. Whiting · 563 U.S. 582 (2011)
• Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council · 530 U.S. 363 (2000)
• Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine · 537 U.S. 51 (2002)
• Altria Group, Inc. v. Good · 555 U.S. 70 (2008)
• Haywood v. Drown · 556 U.S. 729 (2009)
• Kurns v. Railroad Friction Products Corp. · 565 U.S. 625 (2012)
• Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach · 568 U.S. 115 (2013)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2000). 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).