St. Martin Evangelical Lutheran Church v. South Dakota
451 U.S. 772 · Decided May 26, 1981 · 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
St. Martin Evangelical Lutheran Church v. South Dakota was decided on May 26, 1981 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Harry A. Blackmun wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)” in the Federal Taxation area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 451 U.S. 772 · 101 S. Ct. 2142 · 68 L. Ed. 2d 612 · 1981 U.S. LEXIS 105
- Docket number
- 80-120
- Decided
- May 26, 1981
- Argued
- March 3, 1981
- Court era
- Burger 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
- Harry A. Blackmun
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)
- Issue area
- Federal Taxation
- Legal provision
- 26 U.S.C. § 3309
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
St. Martin Evangelical Lutheran Church et al. v. South Dakota
SCDB identifiers: case 1980-100, docket 1980-100-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)”
- United States v. Swank
- Rowan Cos., Inc. v. United States
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Portland Cement Company of Utah
- Hcsc-Laundry v. United States
- United States v. Darusmont et Ux.
- United States v. Vogel Fertilizer Co.
Same Term, same area (Federal Taxation)
- United States v. Darusmont et Ux.
- Hcsc-Laundry v. United States
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Portland Cement Company of Utah
- United States v. Swank
- Rowan Cos., Inc. v. United States
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