United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc., et al.

Decided June 30, 1983. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 81-1032 · 463 U.S. 418 (1983) · Cited 517 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 5–4.

“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. Procter & Gamble Co. · 356 U.S. 677 (1958)
• Douglas Oil Co. of Cal. v. Petrol Stops Northwest · 441 U.S. 211 (1979)
• United States v. Calandra · 414 U.S. 338 (1974)
• Branzburg v. Hayes · 408 U.S. 665 (1972)
• Dennis v. United States · 384 U.S. 855 (1966)
• United States v. Dionisio · 410 U.S. 1 (1973)
• Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. United States · 360 U.S. 395 (1959)
• United States v. Johnson · 319 U.S. 503 (1943)
• Consumer Product Safety Commission v. GTE Sylvania, Inc. · 447 U.S. 102 (1980)
• Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States · 251 U.S. 385 (1920)
• Stirone v. United States · 361 U.S. 212 (1960)
• Costello v. United States · 350 U.S. 359 (1956)
• United States v. LaSalle National Bank · 437 U.S. 298 (1978)
• United States v. Mara · 410 U.S. 19 (1973)
• United States v. Bornstein · 423 U.S. 303 (1976)
• Curcio v. United States · 354 U.S. 118 (1957)
• Pillsbury Co. v. Conboy · 459 U.S. 248 (1983)
• Bread Political Action Committee v. Federal Election Commission · 455 U.S. 577 (1982)
• United States v. Wallace & Tiernan Co. · 336 U.S. 793 (1949)

Cited by

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

• Rehberg v. Paulk · 566 U.S. 356 (2012)
• United States v. Williams · 504 U.S. 36 (1992)
• Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court of Cal., County of Riverside · 478 U.S. 1 (1986)
• United States v. Mechanik · 475 U.S. 66 (1986)
• Young v. United States Ex Rel. Vuitton Et Fils S. A. · 481 U.S. 787 (1987)

Official text

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

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William Joseph Brennan Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

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).