Lawrence County v. Lead-Deadwood School District No. 40-1
469 U.S. 256 · Decided January 9, 1985 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Lawrence County v. Lead-Deadwood School District No. 40-1 was decided on January 9, 1985 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “National supremacy, miscellaneous” 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
- 469 U.S. 256 · 105 S. Ct. 695 · 83 L. Ed. 2d 635 · 1985 U.S. LEXIS 37
- Docket number
- 83-240
- Decided
- January 9, 1985
- Argued
- October 30, 1984
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- National supremacy, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- Article VI, Section 2 (supremacy clause)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- 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 | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Lawrence County et al. v. Lead-Deadwood School District No. 40-1
SCDB identifiers: case 1984-018, docket 1984-018-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “National supremacy, miscellaneous”
- Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon
- Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. HaldermanAltered precedent
- Rose v. Arkansas State PoliceLaw held unconstitutional
- South Dakota v. Dole
- George S. Bennett v. ArkansasLaw held unconstitutional
- Mark Howlett v. Scott Rose
Cases on the same legal provision: Article VI, Section 2 (supremacy clause)
- Washington v. United States
- Rose v. Rose
- Toll v. Moreno
- Blum v. BaconLaw held unconstitutional
- United States v. New Mexico
- Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- United States v. Maine
- United States v. Louisiana
- Bennett v. New Jersey
- Bennett v. Kentucky Department of Education
- Allis-Chalmers Corp. v. Lueck
- United States v. Maine
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