United States v. Graydon Earl Comstock, Jr.
560 U.S. 126 · Decided May 17, 2010 · 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 v. Graydon Earl Comstock, Jr. was decided on May 17, 2010 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “National supremacy, miscellaneous” in the Federalism area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 560 U.S. 126 · 130 S. Ct. 1949 · 176 L. Ed. 2d 878 · 2010 U.S. LEXIS 3879
- Docket number
- 08-1224
- Decided
- May 17, 2010
- Argued
- January 12, 2010
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- National supremacy, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Legal provision
- Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 18 (necessary and proper clause)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority |
Full case caption
United States v. Graydon Earl Comstock, Jr., et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 2009-050, docket 2009-050-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “National supremacy, miscellaneous”
- National Federation of Independent Business v. Kathleen Sebelius
- United States v. Georgia
- Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation v. Pamela L. Hood
- Basim Omar Sabri v. United States
- Linda Frew v. Albert Hawkins
- Nevada Department of Human Resources v. William Hibbs
Cases on the same legal provision: Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 18 (necessary and proper clause)
Same Term, same area (Federalism)
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