Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
O

Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Jefferson Lines, Inc.

514 U.S. 175, 115 S. Ct. 1331 (1995)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Jefferson Lines, Inc.

United States Supreme Court
514 U.S. 175, 115 S. Ct. 1331 (1995)

  • Written by Heather Whittemore, JD

Facts

Jefferson Lines, Inc. (Jefferson) (defendant) was a Minnesota corporation that provided bus services in Oklahoma. Jefferson collected sales taxes on tickets sold in Oklahoma for bus trips that traveled exclusively within Oklahoma but did not collect sales taxes on trips that began in Oklahoma and ended in another state. In 1989 Jefferson filed for bankruptcy. The Oklahoma Tax Commission (plaintiff) filed a claim in bankruptcy court, seeking uncollected sales taxes on tickets for interstate travel sold by Jefferson. Jefferson disputed the claim, arguing that the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution prevented Oklahoma from collecting sales taxes on the full price of tickets for interstate travel because some of the value of the tickets came from states other than Oklahoma. The bankruptcy court held for Jefferson, and the district court affirmed. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court, holding that the application of Oklahoma’s sales tax on the full price of bus tickets for interstate travel violated the Commerce Clause because the tax was not fairly apportioned. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Souter, J.)

Dissent (Breyer, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

State and Local Taxation

Key Terms