Davis v. Michigan Department of the Treasury
489 U.S. 803 · Decided March 28, 1989 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Davis v. Michigan Department of the Treasury was decided on March 28, 1989 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “National supremacy, state tax” in the Federalism area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 489 U.S. 803 · 109 S. Ct. 1500 · 103 L. Ed. 2d 891 · 1989 U.S. LEXIS 1667
- Docket number
- 87-1020
- Decided
- March 28, 1989
- Argued
- January 9, 1989
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- Anthony M. Kennedy
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- National supremacy, state tax
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- 4 U.S.C. § 111
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Held unconstitutional
- A state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Davis v. Michigan Department of the Treasury
SCDB identifiers: case 1988-062, docket 1988-062-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “National supremacy, state tax”
- James B. Beam Distilling Co. v. Georgia
- Arizona Department of Revenue v. Blaze Construction Company, Inc.
- United States Steel Corp. v. Multistate Tax Commission
- United States v. County of Fresno
- J. Elliott Hibbs v. Kathleen M. Winn
- United States v. State Tax Commission of Mississippi
Cases on the same legal provision: 4 U.S.C. § 111
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Shell Oil Company v. Iowa Department of Revenue
- Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- Volt Information Sciences, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University
- Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Graham
- California v. Arc America Corp.
- Mansell v. Mansell
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error