United States of America v. State of Alaska on Bill of Complaint
503 U.S. 569 · Decided April 21, 1992 · 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
United States of America v. State of Alaska on Bill of Complaint was decided on April 21, 1992 unanimously (9–0). Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal-state ownership dispute” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 503 U.S. 569 · 112 S. Ct. 1606 · 118 L. Ed. 2d 222 · 1992 U.S. LEXIS 2548
- Docket number
- 118 ORIG
- Decided
- April 21, 1992
- Argued
- February 24, 1992
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Original jurisdiction
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal-state ownership dispute
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- 33 U.S.C. § 403
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority |
Full case caption
United States of America v. State of Alaska on Bill of Complaint
SCDB identifiers: case 1991-061, docket 1991-061-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal-state ownership dispute”
- Utah Division of State Lands v. United States
- United States v. Maine
- United States v. Maine
- California ex Rel. State Lands Commission v. United States
- United States v. Louisiana
- United States v. Maine
Cases on the same legal provision: 33 U.S.C. § 403
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
- Keyton E. Barker and Pauline Barker v. Kansas
- Dan Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc.
- New York v. United StatesLaw held unconstitutional
- Thomas Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc.
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