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Societe Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa

482 U.S. 522 · Decided June 15, 1987 · Supreme Court of the United States

Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.

At a glance

Societe Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa was decided on June 15, 1987 unanimously (9–0). The Court vacated 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 “Freedom of Information Act and related laws” in the Privacy area.

Read the opinion

Case details

Citations
482 U.S. 522 · 107 S. Ct. 2542 · 96 L. Ed. 2d 461 · 1987 U.S. LEXIS 2615
Docket number
85-1695
Decided
June 15, 1987
Argued
January 14, 1987
Decision type
Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
Disposition
Vacated 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 area
Privacy
Legal provision
Treaty
Type of law
Other
Decision direction (SCDB)
Liberal what this means

How the Justices voted

JusticeVoteSeparate writing
Justice William J. Brennan Jr.Special concurrence
Justice Byron R. WhiteMajority
Justice Thurgood MarshallSpecial concurrence
Justice Harry A. BlackmunSpecial concurrenceWrote an opinion
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.Majority
Chief Justice William H. RehnquistMajority
Justice John Paul StevensMajorityWrote an opinion
Justice Sandra Day O'ConnorSpecial concurrence
Justice Antonin ScaliaMajority

Full case caption

Societe Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale et al. v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa

SCDB identifiers: case 1986-128, docket 1986-128-01.

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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