United States v. International Business Machines Corporation
517 U.S. 843 · Decided June 10, 1996 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
United States v. International Business Machines Corporation was decided on June 10, 1996 by a vote of 6–2. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)” in the Federal Taxation area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 517 U.S. 843 · 116 S. Ct. 1793 · 135 L. Ed. 2d 124 · 1996 U.S. LEXIS 3716
- Docket number
- 95-591
- Decided
- June 10, 1996
- Argued
- March 18, 1996
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)
- Issue area
- Federal Taxation
- Legal provision
- Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 5 (export clause)
- Type of law
- Constitution
- Held unconstitutional
- An act of Congress
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Did not participate: John Paul Stevens.
Full case caption
United States v. International Business Machines Corporation
SCDB identifiers: case 1995-065, docket 1995-065-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Federal taxation (Internal Revenue Code)”
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Robert F. Lundy
- Kevin M. O'Gilvie and Stephanie L. O'Gilvie v. United States
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- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Erich E. Schleier and Helen B. Schleier
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Same Term, same area (Federal Taxation)
- Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Robert F. Lundy
- United States v. Thomas R. Noland
- United States v. Reorganized Cf&i Fabricators of Utah, 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