Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis

2008 United States Supreme Court case

Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 5, 2007 Decided May 19, 2008
Full case name	Department of Revenue of Kentucky, et al. v. George W. Davis, et ux.
Docket no.	06-666
Citations	553 U.S. 328 (more) 128 S. Ct. 1801; 170 L. Ed. 2d 685; 2008 U.S. LEXIS 4312; 76 U.S.L.W. 4288; 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 227
Case history
Prior	On Writ of Certiorari to the Court of Appeals of Kentucky.
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Antonin Scalia Anthony Kennedy · David Souter Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Case opinions
Plurality	Souter, joined by Stevens, Breyer; Roberts, Ginsburg (all but Part III–B); Scalia (all but Parts III–B and IV)
Concurrence	Stevens
Concurrence	Roberts (in part)
Concurrence	Scalia (in part)
Concurrence	Thomas (in judgment)
Dissent	Kennedy, joined by Alito
Dissent	Alito

Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis, 553 U.S. 328 (2008), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld a Kentucky law that provides a preferential tax break to Kentucky residents who invest in bonds issued by the state and its municipalities (municipal bonds). The Court held in a 7–2 vote that the State of Kentucky does not engage in unconstitutional discrimination against interstate commerce by exempting the interest on its bonds from residents' taxable income while taxing the interest earned on the bonds of other states.^[1] The case has national implications because thirty-six (36) states have tax schemes similar to the one at issue in Kentucky.^[2]

Background

George and Catherine Davis sued the State of Kentucky under the legal theory that the State of Kentucky violated the Dormant Commerce Clause, a legal implication of the Commerce Clause, by providing a differential tax treatment to gains earned from investments in municipal bonds from Kentucky versus other states.^[3]

Opinion of the Court

The majority opinion stated that the Kentucky tax scheme benefited a clearly public issuer, while treating all private issuers exactly the same. There was no forbidden discrimination because Kentucky, as a public entity, did not have to treat itself as being "substantially similar" to the other bond issuers in the market. The Kentucky tax scheme was constitutional because the Commonwealth's direct participation favored, not local private entrepreneurs, but the Commonwealth and local governments.

Footnotes

^ Greenhouse, Linda (May 20, 2008). "Court Upholds Tax Exemptions for Municipal Bonds". New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
^ Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis 553 U.S. ____, pg 5.
^ Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis 553 U.S. ____, pg 6.

External links

Text of Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis, 553 U.S. 328 (2008) is available from: Google Scholar Justia Oyez (oral argument audio) Supreme Court (slip opinion) (archived)

U.S. Supreme Court Article I case law

Enumeration Clause of Section II
Utah v. Evans (2002) Department of Commerce v. New York (2019) Trump v. New York (2020)

Qualifications Clauses of Sections II and III
Powell v. McCormack (1969) U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995) Cook v. Gralike (2001)

Elections Clause of Section IV
Ex parte Siebold (1879) Smiley v. Holm (1932) U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995) Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (2015) Moore v. Harper (2023)

Speech or Debate Clause of Section VI
Kilbourn v. Thompson (1881) United States v. Johnson (1966) Gravel v. United States (1972)

Origination Clause of Section VII
Flint v. Stone Tracy Co. (1911) United States v. Munoz-Flores (1990)

Presentment Clause of Section VII
Pocket Veto Case (1929) Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha (1983) Clinton v. City of New York (1998)

Taxing and Spending Clause of Section VIII
Hylton v. United States (1796) Collector v. Day (1871) Springer v. United States (1881) Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895) Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co. (1916) Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co. (1922) United States v. Butler (1936) Helvering v. Davis (1937) South Dakota v. Dole (1987) Sabri v. United States (2004) National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012)

Taxing and Spending Clause of Section VIII

Hylton v. United States (1796)
Collector v. Day (1871)
Springer v. United States (1881)
Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. (1895)
Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co. (1916)
Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co. (1922)
United States v. Butler (1936)
Helvering v. Davis (1937)
South Dakota v. Dole (1987)
Sabri v. United States (2004)
National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012)

Commerce Clause of Section VIII

Dormant Commerce Clause

Brown v. Maryland (1827)
Willson v. Black-Bird Creek Marsh Co. (1829)
Cooley v. Board of Wardens (1852)
Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois (1886)
Swift & Co. v. United States (1905)
George W. Bush & Sons Co. v. Malloy (1925)
Baldwin v. G.A.F. Seelig, Inc. (1935)
Edwards v. California (1941)
Southern Pacific Co. v. Arizona (1945)
Dean Milk Co. v. City of Madison (1951)
Miller Bros. Co. v. Maryland (1954)
Bibb v. Navajo Freight Lines, Inc. (1959)
National Bellas Hess v. Illinois (1967)
Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc. (1970)
Hughes v. Alexandria Scrap Corp. (1976)
Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady (1977)
Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Commission (1977)
City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey (1978)
Exxon Corp. v. Governor of Maryland (1978)
Reeves, Inc. v. Stake (1980)
Kassel v. Consolidated Freightways Corp. (1981)
Sporhase v. Nebraska ex rel. Douglas (1982)
White v. Mass. Council of Construction Employers (1983)
South-Central Timber Development, Inc. v. Wunnicke (1984)
Maine v. Taylor (1986)
Healy v. Beer Institute, Inc. (1989)
Quill Corp. v. North Dakota (1992)
Chemical Waste Management, Inc. v. Hunt (1992)
Oregon Waste Systems, Inc. v. Department of Environmental Quality of Oregon (1994)
C&A Carbone, Inc. v. Town of Clarkstown (1994)
West Lynn Creamery, Inc. v. Healy (1994)
Granholm v. Heald (2005)
United Haulers Ass'n v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority (2007)
Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis (2008)
Comptroller of the Treasury of Maryland v. Wynne (2015)
South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. (2018)
Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Assn. v. Thomas (2019)
National Pork Producers Council v. Ross (2023)

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Paul v. Virginia (1869)
Cooper Manufacturing Co. v. Ferguson (1885)
Kidd v. Pearson (1888)
In re Debs (1895)
United States v. E. C. Knight Co. (1895)
Champion v. Ames (1903)
Southern Railway Co. v. United States (1911)
Hoke v. United States (1913)
Houston East & West Texas Railway Co. v. United States (1914)
Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918)
Board of Trade of City of Chicago v. Olsen (1923)
A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935)
Gold Clause Cases (1935)
Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan (1935)
Carter v. Carter Coal Co. (1936)
NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. (1937)
United States v. Carolene Products Co. (1938)
McGoldrick v. Berwind-White Coal Mining Co. (1940)
United States v. Darby Lumber Co. (1941)
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Wickard v. Filburn (1942)
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North American Co. v. SEC (1946)
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Katzenbach v. McClung (1964)
Maryland v. Wirtz (1968)
National League of Cities v. Usery (1976)
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Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Montana (1981)
EEOC v. Wyoming (1983)
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New York v. United States (1992)
United States v. Lopez (1995)
Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida (1996)
Reno v. Condon (2000)
United States v. Locke (2000)
Jones v. United States (2000)
United States v. Morrison (2000)
Gonzales v. Raich (2005)
National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012)
Taylor v. United States (2016)

Coinage Clause of Section VIII

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Patent misuse case law	Motion Picture Patents Co. v. Universal Film Manufacturing Co. (1917) Morton Salt Co. v. G.S. Suppiger Co. (1942)
Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914	Fashion Originators' Guild of America v. FTC (1941) Dowling v. United States (1985)
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Other patent cases	Continental Paper Bag Co. v. Eastern Paper Bag Co. (1908) Minerals Separation, Ltd. v. Hyde (1916) United States v. General Electric Co. (1926) United States v. Univis Lens Co. (1942) Altvater v. Freeman (1943) Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp. (1945) Funk Bros. Seed Co. v. Kalo Inoculant Co. (1948) Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. v. Supermarket Equipment Corp. (1950) Graver Tank & Manufacturing Co. v. Linde Air Products Co. (1950) Aro Manufacturing Co. v. Convertible Top Replacement Co. (1961) Compco Corp. v. Day-Brite Lighting, Inc. (1964) Wilbur-Ellis Co. v. Kuther (1964) Brulotte v. Thys Co. (1964) Walker Process Equipment, Inc. v. Food Machinery & Chemical Corp. (1965) Graham v. John Deere Co. (1966) United States v. Adams (1966) Brenner v. Manson (1966) Lear, Inc. v. Adkins (1969) Anderson's-Black Rock, Inc. v. Pavement Salvage Co. (1969) Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc. (1971) Gottschalk v. Benson (1972) United States v. Glaxo Group Ltd. (1973) Dann v. Johnston (1976) Sakraida v. Ag Pro Inc. (1976) Parker v. Flook (1978) Diamond v. Chakrabarty (1980) Diamond v. Diehr (1981) Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc. (1989) Eli Lilly & Co. v. Medtronic, Inc. (1990) Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc. (1996) Warner-Jenkinson Co. v. Hilton Davis Chemical Co. (1997) Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc. (1998) Dickinson v. Zurko (1999) Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank (1999) J. E. M. Ag Supply, Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. (2001) Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co. (2002) Merck KGaA v. Integra Lifesciences I, Ltd. (2005) eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C. (2006) Illinois Tool Works Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc. (2006) LabCorp v. Metabolite, Inc. (2006) MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc. (2007) KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc. (2007) Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp. (2007) Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc. (2008) Bilski v. Kappos (2010) Global-Tech Appliances, Inc. v. SEB S.A. (2011) Stanford University v. Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. (2011) Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Ltd. Partnership (2011) Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. (2012) Kappos v. Hyatt (2012) Bowman v. Monsanto Co. (2013) Gunn v. Minton (2013) Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. (2013) FTC v. Actavis, Inc. (2013) Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International (2014) Akamai Techs., Inc. v. Limelight Networks, Inc. (2014) Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc. (2015) Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC (2015) Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. (2016) TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC (2017) Peter v. NantKwest, Inc. (2019)
Other trademark cases	G. & C. Merriam Co. v. Syndicate Pub. Co. (1915) Kellogg Co. v. National Biscuit Co. (1938) Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B. V. (2020)

Necessary and Proper Clause of Section VIII
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Lambert v. Yellowley (1926) Sabri v. United States (2004) Gonzales v. Raich (2005) United States v. Comstock (2010) United States v. Kebodeaux (2013)

Habeas corpus Suspension Clause of Section IX
Ex parte Bollman (1807) Ex parte Merryman (1861) Ex parte Endo (1944) Immigration and Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr (2001) Boumediene v. Bush (2008) Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam (2020)

No Bills of Attainder or Ex post facto Laws Clause of Section IX
Calder v. Bull (1798) Sturges v. Crowninshield (1819) Garner v. Board of Public Works (1851) De Veau v. Braisted (1860) Ex parte Garland (1866) Hawker v. New York (1898) Samuels v. McCurdy (1925) Barr v. City of Columbia (1964) Teague v. Lane (1989) Kansas v. Hendricks (1997) Smith v. Doe (2003)

Contract Clause of Section X

Legal Tender Cases

Hepburn v. Griswold (1870)

Others

Fletcher v. Peck (1810)
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)
Sturges v. Crowninshield (1819)
Ogden v. Saunders (1827)
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837)
Bronson v. Kinzie (1843)
Stone v. Mississippi (1880)
Smyth v. Ames (1898)
Block v. Hirsh (1921)
Home Building & Loan Ass'n v. Blaisdell (1934)
W.B. Worthen Co. v. Kavanaugh (1935)
City of El Paso v. Simmons (1965)
U.S. Trust Co. of N.Y. v. New Jersey (1977)
Allied Structural Steel Co. v. Spannaus (1978)
Energy Reserves Group v. Kansas P. & L. Co. (1983)
Exxon Corp. v. Eagerton (1983)
Keystone Bituminous Coal Ass'n v. DeBenedictis (1987)
Sveen v. Melin (2018)

Import-Export Clause of Section X
Brown v. Maryland (1827) Canton Railroad Co. v. Rogan (1951)

Compact Clause of Section X
Florida v. Georgia (1855) Virginia v. West Virginia (1871) Virginia v. Tennessee (1893) Wharton v. Wise (1894) Northeast Bancorp v. Federal Reserve Board of Governors (1985) New Jersey v. New York (1998) Virginia v. Maryland (2003) Polar Tankers, Inc. v. City of Valdez (2009) Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado (2018)