Rex R. Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine
537 U.S. 51 · Decided December 3, 2002 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Rex R. Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine was decided on December 3, 2002 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 537 U.S. 51 · 123 S. Ct. 518 · 154 L. Ed. 2d 466 · 2002 U.S. LEXIS 9067
- Docket number
- 01-706
- Decided
- December 3, 2002
- Argued
- October 15, 2002
- 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
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- John Paul Stevens
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- 46 U.S.C. § 4301
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
Rex R. Sprietsma, Administrator of the Estate of Jeanne Sprietsma, Deceased v. Mercury Marine, a Division of Brunswick Corporation
SCDB identifiers: case 2002-007, docket 2002-007-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal preemption of state court jurisdiction”
- Dennis Bates v. Dow Agrosciences LLC
- Norfolk Southern Railway Company v. Dedra Shanklin
- Donna S. Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc.
- Arnold M. Preston v. Alex E. Ferrer
- Warner-Lambert Co., LLC v. Kimberly Kent
- Jose Ernesto Medellin v. Texas
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Kentucky Association of Health Plans, Inc. v. Janie A. Miller
- Nevada Department of Human Resources v. William Hibbs
- Entergy Louisiana, Inc. v. Louisiana Public Service Commission
- American Insurance Association v. John Garamendi
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