Hughes v. Oklahoma

Infobox SCOTUS case
Litigants = Hughes v. Oklahoma
ArgueDate = January 9
ArgueYear = 1979
DecideDate = April 24
DecideYear = 1979
FullName = William Hughes v. Oklahoma
USVol = 441
USPage = 322
Citation =
Prior =
Subsequent =
Holding = The Congress may enact legislation governing wildlife on federal lands. When conflicting state law exists, the supremacy clause ensures that federal legislation will prevail.
SCOTUS = 1975-1981
Majority = Brennan
JoinMajority = Stewart, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens
Dissent = Rehnquist
JoinDissent = Burger
LawsApplied =

"Hughes v. Oklahoma", 441 U.S. 322 (1979), was a United States Supreme Court decision, which held that the United States Congress may enact legislation governing wildlife on federal lands. When conflicting state law exists, the supremacy clause ensures that federal legislation will prevail. It thereby overruled "Geer v. Connecticut", ussc|161|519|1896, rejecting the earlier case’s “19th Century legal fiction of state ownership” of wildlife. In the Court’s view, this “fiction” had “been eroded to the point of virtual extinction in cases involving regulation of wild animals.” With the fall of "Geer", the last precedential impediment to the federal government’s wildlife management authority was removed.

ee also

*List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 441

Further reading

* cite journal | last = Axline | first = M. D. | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1981 | month = | title = The End of a Wildlife Era: "Hughes v. Oklahoma" | journal = Oregon Law Review | volume = 60 | issue = | pages = 413 | id = | url = | accessdate = | quote =
* cite journal | last = Hellerstein | first = Walter | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1979 | month = | title = "Hughes v. Oklahoma": The Court, the Commerce Clause, and State Control of Natural Resources | journal = The Supreme Court Review | volume = 1979 | issue = | pages = 51–93 | doi = 10.2307/3109566 | url = | accessdate = | quote =
* cite journal | last = Matthews | first = Olen Paul | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1986 | month = | title = Who Owns Wildlife? | journal = Wildlife Society Bulletin | volume = 14 | issue = 4 | pages = 459–465 | doi = 10.2307/3782288 | url = | accessdate = | quote =