Washington State Dept. of Licensing v. Cougar Den, Inc.
Decided March 19, 2019. Stephen Gerald Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 16-1498 · 586 U.S. 347 (2019)
Holding
The Supreme Court of Washington’s judgment—that the “right to travel” provision of the 1855 Treaty Between the United States and the Yakama Nation of Indians pre-empts the State’s fuel tax as applied to Cougar Den’s importation of fuel by public highway for sale within the reservation—is affirmed.
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 5–4.
Plurality · 3
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Elena Kagan
- Stephen G. Breyer · announced the judgment of the Court
Concurring · 2
- Neil M. Gorsuch · filed an opinion concurring in the judgment
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Dissenting · 4
- John G. Roberts, Jr. · filed a dissenting opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
- Brett M. Kavanaugh · filed a dissenting opinion
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).
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.
- Tulee v. Washington · 315 U.S. 681 (1942)
- United States v. Winans · 198 U.S. 371 (1905)
- Washington v. Washington State Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel Assn. · 443 U.S. 658 (1979)
- Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones · 411 U.S. 145 (1973)
- Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians · 526 U.S. 172 (1999)
- Eastern Airlines, Inc. v. Floyd · 499 U.S. 530 (1991)
- Puyallup Tribe v. Department of Game of Wash. · 391 U.S. 392 (1968)
- Water Splash, Inc. v. Menon · 581 U.S. 271 (2017)
Official text
Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)
Explore from here
Stephen Gerald Breyer’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2019). Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).