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Arizona v. California
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued March 9–10, 1931; Decided May 18, 1931
Argued April 2, 1934; Decided May 21, 1934
Argued April 28, 1936; Decided May 25, 1936
Argued January 8–11, 1962 (Reargued November 13–14, 1962); Decided June 3, 1963
Decreed March 9, 1964; amended February 28, 1966
Argued October 10, 1978; Decided January 9, 1979
Argued December 8, 1982; Decided March 30, 1983
Supplemental decree entered April 16, 1984
Argued June 19, 2000; Decided October 10, 2000
Full case name	State of Arizona v. State of California
Citations	283 U.S. 423 (1931); 292 U.S. 341 (1934); 298 U.S. 558 (1936); 373 U.S. 546 (1963); 376 U.S. 340 (1964); 383 U.S. 268 (1966); 439 U.S. 419 (1979); 460 U.S. 605 (1983) 466 U.S. 144 (1984); 531 U.S. 1 (2000); 589 U.S. ____ (2020)
Prior history	Original Jurisdiction
Argument	Oral argument
Holding
California gets a maximum of 50% up to 4,400,000 acre-feet (5.4 km) of Colorado River water a year or less according to certain formula; Nevada gets 4% and Arizona gets the remainder
Court membership
(1931) Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes Associate Justices Oliver W. Holmes Jr. · Willis Van Devanter James C. McReynolds · Louis Brandeis George Sutherland · Pierce Butler Harlan F. Stone · Owen Roberts (1934 and 1936) Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes Associate Justices Willis Van Devanter · James C. McReynolds Louis Brandeis · George Sutherland Pierce Butler · Harlan F. Stone Owen Roberts · Benjamin N. Cardozo (1963 and 1964) Chief Justice Earl Warren Associate Justices Hugo Black · William O. Douglas Tom C. Clark · John M. Harlan II William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart Byron White · Arthur Goldberg (1966) Chief Justice Earl Warren Associate Justices Hugo Black · William O. Douglas Tom C. Clark · John M. Harlan II William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart Byron White · Abe Fortas (1979) Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart Byron White · Thurgood Marshall Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr. William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens (1983 and 1984) Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun Lewis F. Powell Jr. · William Rehnquist John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor (2000) Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy David Souter · Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer

Arizona v. California is a set of United States Supreme Court cases, all dealing with disputes over water distribution from the Colorado River between the states of Arizona and California. It also covers the amount of water that the State of Nevada receives from the river as well.

When a dispute arises between two states, the case is filed for original jurisdiction with the United States Supreme Court. This is one of the very limited circumstances where the Court has original jurisdiction; that is, as a trial court and no lower may hear the case. In all other cases, the Court acts as the highest level appellate court in the United States.

The cases involved were all named Arizona v. California, and were decided in 1931, 1934, 1936, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1979, 1983, 1984, and 2000.

The original decision, 283 U.S. 423 (1931), specified the amount of water to which Arizona was entitled under the Colorado River Compact of 1922.

Since then, the case has been relitigated several times because of Arizona's claims that California is using more water than it is entitled to.

The court determined that the Secretary of the Interior was not bound by Prior-appropriation water rights in allocating water among the states, within the 1964 decree.

• 292 U.S. 341 (1934): Arizona argued that the Colorado River Compact was unconstitutional.
• 298 U.S. 558 (1936): Arizona requested that the Supreme Court:
  • specify an amount of Colorado River water for Arizona's use
  • limit the amount allotted to California
• 373 U.S. 546 (1963): The court specified the amount of water to which each state in the Colorado River Compact was entitled.
• 376 U.S. 340 (1964): The court adjusted the amounts of water specified in 373 US 546.
• 383 U.S. 268 (1966): The court adjusted its previous decree.
• 439 U.S. 419 (1979): The court adjusted the specified amounts of water for all parties to the case.
• 460 U.S. 605 (1983): The court issued a decree regarding unadjudicated rights of Indian tribes to Colorado River water.
• 466 U.S. 144 (1984): The court adjusted its previous decree.
• 531 U.S. 1 (2000): The court adjusted the specified amounts of water for several parties to the case.
• 547 U.S. 150 (2006): The court approved a consolidated decree.

In summary, as long as at least 7,500,000 acre-feet (9.3 km) of water is available from the Colorado River, California is allocated 4,400,000 acre⋅ft (5.4 km); Nevada, 300,000 acre⋅ft (0.37 km); and Arizona, the remainder. If more water is available, California is entitled to 50% of the water from the Colorado River, Arizona to 46%, and Nevada to 4%. If less water is available, the Secretary of the Interior must allocate the water according to various formulas (which were the subjects of the court cases) to ensure that each state receives a specified amount, with California receiving an absolute fixed maximum of 4,400,000 acre-feet (5.4 km) per year (376 U.S. 342). Some of the adjustments involved rights of the U.S. Government with respect to supplying water to Indian tribes pursuant to Executive Orders signed by the President of the United States as far back as 1907.

The 1962 oral arguments set a modern record for the Supreme Court: 16 hours over four days.

See also

• Wyoming v. Colorado (1922)
• Florida v. Georgia (2018)
• List of United States Supreme Court cases: volume 283, volume 292, volume 298, volume 373, volume 376, volume 383, volume 439, volume 460, volume 466, volume 531
• List of United States Supreme Court cases
• Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume

References

1. "Arizona". www.usbr.gov. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
2. "(3) If insufficient mainstream water is available for release, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, to satisfy annual consumptive use of 7,500,000 acre-feet in the aforesaid three States, then the Secretary of the Interior... may apportion the amount remaining available... but in no event shall more than 4,400,000 acre-feet be apportioned for use in California..." 376 U.S. 440, 442
3. "Multi-hour arguments heard at Supreme Court - 24 Hour National News - The Buffalo News". Archived from the original on March 30, 2012.

External links

• Lawrence Pratt Collection Concerning Arizona v. California and the Colorado River. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

v t e Colorado River system
Jurisdictions	United States Arizona California Colorado Nevada New Mexico Utah Wyoming Mexico Baja California Sonora
Canyons	Byers Canyon Gore Canyon Red Gorge Glenwood Canyon De Beque Canyon Horsethief Canyon Ruby Canyon Westwater Canyon Cataract Canyon Narrow Canyon Glen Canyon Grand Canyon Marble Canyon Granite Gorge Middle Granite Gorge Lower Granite Gorge Grand Wash Canyon Iceberg Canyon Virgin Canyon Boulder Canyon Black Canyon Pyramid Canyon Mohave Canyon
Natural features	River course Rocky Mountains Colorado River Basin Colorado Plateau Grand Lake Horseshoe Bend Sonoran Desert Mojave Desert Lower Colorado River Valley Mohave Valley Parker Valley Palo Verde Valley Colorado Desert Alamo River New River Salton Sea Imperial Valley Delta Montague Island Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez
Tributaries	Blue River Dirty Devil River Dolores River Escalante River Eagle River Fraser River Gila River Green River Gunnison River Kanab Creek Little Colorado River Paria River Roaring Fork River San Juan River Thunder River/Tapeats Creek Virgin River Las Vegas Wash Williams Fork Río Hardy
Engineering	Mainstem dams Shadow Mountain Granby Windy Gap Grand Valley Price-Stubb Glen Canyon Hoover Davis Parker Headgate Rock Palo Verde Imperial Laguna Morelos Major reservoirs Fontenelle Reservoir Flaming Gorge Reservoir Blue Mesa Reservoir Navajo Lake Lake Powell Lake Mead Lake Mohave Lake Havasu Imperial Reservoir Theodore Roosevelt Lake San Carlos Lake Aqueducts and canals Grand Ditch Colorado River Aqueduct San Diego Aqueduct Central Arizona Project All-American Canal Alamo Canal Coachella Canal Water projects Boulder Canyon Project Colorado–Big Thompson Project Colorado River Storage Project Grand Valley AVA Yuma Project
Designated areas	Arches National Park Canyonlands National Park Colorado National Monument Dead Horse Point State Park Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Grand Canyon National Park Lake Mead National Recreation Area Rocky Mountain National Park
Related topics	Arizona v. California Colorado River Board of California Colorado River Compact Floyd Dominy Lee's Ferry International Boundary and Water Commission Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Rapids and features U.S. Bureau of Reclamation William Mulholland

• 1931 in United States case law
• 1934 in United States case law
• 1936 in United States case law
• 1963 in United States case law
• 1964 in United States case law
• 1968 in United States case law
• 1979 in United States case law
• 1983 in United States case law
• 1984 in United States case law
• 2000 in United States case law
• Colorado River
• Environment of Arizona
• Environment of California
• United States Supreme Court cases
• United States Supreme Court original jurisdiction cases
• United States water case law
• United States Supreme Court cases of the Hughes Court
• United States Supreme Court cases of the Warren Court
• United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court
• United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court