Watt, Secretary of the Interior, et al. v. Western Nuclear, Inc.

Decided June 6, 1983. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 81-1686 · 462 U.S. 36 (1983) · Cited 127 times

Holding

Gravel found on lands patented under the SRHA is a mineral reserved to the United States within the meaning of 9 of the Act.

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.

“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.

• Northern Pacific Railway Company v. Soderberg · 188 U.S. 526 (1902)
• Andrus v. Charlestone Stone Products Co. · 436 U.S. 604 (1978)
• United States v. Coleman · 390 U.S. 599 (1968)
• Burke v. Southern Pacific Railroad · 234 U.S. 669 (1914)
• Watt v. Alaska · 451 U.S. 259 (1981)
• Deffeback v. Hawke · 115 U.S. 392 (1885)
• Leo Sheep Co. v. United States · 440 U.S. 668 (1979)
• Lorillard v. Pons · 434 U.S. 575 (1978)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. C. M. Joiner Leasing Corp. · 320 U.S. 344 (1943)
• Mastro Plastics Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board · 350 U.S. 270 (1956)
• Griffiths v. Commissioner · 308 U.S. 355 (1939)
• Helvering v. New York Trust Co. · 292 U.S. 455 (1934)
• Best v. Humboldt Placer Mining Co. · 371 U.S. 334 (1963)
• National Lead Co. v. United States · 252 U.S. 140 (1920)
• Cameron v. United States · 252 U.S. 450 (1920)
• United States v. Union Pacific Railroad · 353 U.S. 112 (1957)
• Andrus v. Shell Oil Co. · 446 U.S. 657 (1980)
• Chrisman v. Miller · 197 U.S. 313 (1905)

Cited by

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

• BedRoc Limited, LLC v. United States · 541 U.S. 176 (2004)
• Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams · 532 U.S. 105 (2001)
• California v. Carney · 471 U.S. 386 (1985)
• Evans v. Jeff D. Ex Rel. Johnson · 475 U.S. 717 (1986)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1983). 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).