New York v. United States

Petitioners

State of New York; County of Allegany, New York; County of Cortland, New York

Respondent

United States et al.

Petitioners' Claim

That the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Act Amendments of 1985, which regulated states' management of nuclear waste, violated the Tenth Amendment's reservation of powers for the states, as well as the Guarantee Clause of the Constitution.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioners

Peter H. Schiff, Deputy Solicitor General of New York

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Wallace, U.S. Deputy Solicitor General

Justices for the Court

Anthony M. Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor (writing for the Court), William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, David H. Souter, Clarence Thomas

Justices Dissenting

Harry A. Blackmun, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

19 June 1992

Decision

That two of the act's three incentives to encourage compliance with federal waste-management laws were constitutional under the Commerce Clause; but that a third provision punishing non-compliance was unconstitutional, because it violated the Tenth Amendment.