Universal Interpretive Shuttle Corporation v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission (1968)
- Docket
- 19
- Decided
- 1968-01-01
- Category
- General
Summary
Question: Does the Secretary of the Interior retain exclusive rights to contract services for national parks? Conclusion: Yes. Justice Byron R. White delivered the opinion for the 6-2 majority. The Supreme Court held that Congress granted sole authority over contracts for services at national parks to the Secretary of the Interior. Any alternative interpretation of the statute would require a dual authority scheme that has no evidence of congressional intent. In his dissent, Justice William O. Douglas wrote that the Supreme Court should not interfere in matters of local law in the District of Columbia. He argued that this case did not present a constitutional issue but rather an issue of local law that should not have been reviewed by the Supreme Court. Justice Potter Stewart joined in the dissenting opinion. Justice Thurgood Marshall did not participate in the discussion or decision of this case.