Weinberger, Secretary of Defense, et al. v. Romero-Barcelo et al.

Decided April 27, 1982. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 80-1990 · 456 U.S. 305 (1982) · Cited 1,831 times

Holding

The FWPCA does not foreclose completely the exercise of a district court's discretion, but, rather than requiring the court to issue an injunction for any and all statutory violations, permits the court to order relief it considers necessary to secure prompt compliance with the Act, which relief can include, but is not limited to, an order of immediate cessation.

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 8–1.

“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.

• Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill · 437 U.S. 153 (1978)
• Hecht Co. v. Bowles · 321 U.S. 321 (1944)
• City of Milwaukee v. Illinois · 451 U.S. 304 (1981)
• Yakus v. United States · 321 U.S. 414 (1944)
• United States v. City & County of San Francisco · 310 U.S. 16 (1940)
• Environmental Protection Agency v. National Crushed Stone Ass'n · 449 U.S. 64 (1980)
• Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody · 422 U.S. 405 (1975)
• Environmental Protection Agency v. California Ex Rel. State Water Resources Control Board · 426 U.S. 200 (1976)
• Middlesex County Sewerage Authority v. National Sea Clammers Assn. · 453 U.S. 1 (1981)
• E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. v. Train · 430 U.S. 112 (1977)
• Railroad Comm'n of Tex. v. Pullman Co. · 312 U.S. 496 (1941)
• United States v. W. T. Grant Co. · 345 U.S. 629 (1953)
• Sampson v. Murray · 415 U.S. 61 (1974)
• Beacon Theatres, Inc. v. Westover · 359 U.S. 500 (1959)
• Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer · 343 U.S. 579 (1952)
• Holmberg v. Armbrecht · 327 U.S. 392 (1946)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 349 U.S. 294 (1955)
• Curtis v. Loether · 415 U.S. 189 (1974)
• Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc. · 398 U.S. 375 (1970)
• Virginian Railway Co. v. System Federation No. 40 · 300 U.S. 515 (1937)
• Porter v. Warner Holding Co. · 328 U.S. 395 (1946)
• Illinois v. City of Milwaukee · 406 U.S. 91 (1972)
• Wilburn Boat Co. v. Fireman's Fund Insurance · 348 U.S. 310 (1955)
• United States v. Oregon State Medical Society · 343 U.S. 326 (1952)
• Mitchell v. Robert DeMario Jewelry, Inc. · 361 U.S. 288 (1960)
• Rondeau v. Mosinee Paper Corp. · 422 U.S. 49 (1975)
• Train v. Colorado Public Interest Research Group, Inc. · 426 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Harrisonville v. W. S. Dickey Clay Manufacturing Co. · 289 U.S. 334 (1933)
• Cavanaugh v. Looney · 248 U.S. 453 (1919)

Cited by

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

• Amoco Production Co. v. Village of Gambell · 480 U.S. 531 (1987)
• United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative · 532 U.S. 483 (2001)
• Starbucks Corp. v. McKinney · 602 U.S. 339 (2024)
• Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 555 U.S. 7 (2008)
• Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms · 561 U.S. 139 (2010)
• Salazar v. Buono · 559 U.S. 700 (2010)
• Chambers v. Nasco, Inc. · 501 U.S. 32 (1991)
• Nken v. Holder · 556 U.S. 418 (2009)
• Carlisle v. United States · 517 U.S. 416 (1996)
• Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc. · 528 U.S. 167 (2000)
• Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors, Inc. · 458 U.S. 564 (1982)
• Park 'N Fly, Inc. v. Dollar Park & Fly, Inc. · 469 U.S. 189 (1985)
• Webster v. Doe · 486 U.S. 592 (1988)
• United States v. Rodgers · 461 U.S. 677 (1983)
• Reno v. Catholic Social Services, Inc. · 509 U.S. 43 (1993)
• Countyof Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of NY · 470 U.S. 226 (1985)
• Hamdan v. Rumsfeld · 548 U.S. 557 (2006)
• California v. American Stores Co. · 495 U.S. 271 (1990)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1982). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).