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Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado

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Supreme Court of the United States
Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado
Term: 2023
Important Dates
Argued: March 20, 2024
Decided: June 21, 2024
Outcome
Exception sustained
Vote
5-4
Majority
Chief Justice John Roberts • Sonia Sotomayor • Elena Kagan • Brett Kavanaugh • Ketanji Brown Jackson
Dissenting
Neil Gorsuch • Clarence Thomas • Samuel Alito • Amy Coney Barrett

Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado is a case that was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 21, 2024, during the court's October 2023-2024 term. The case was argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on March 20, 2024.

In a 5-4 opinion, the court held that because the proposed consent decree would dispose of the United States’ Compact claims without its consent, the States’ motion to enter the consent decree is denied. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson delivered the opinion of the court.[1] Click here for more information about the ruling.


HIGHLIGHTS
  • The issue: The case concerned the Rio Grande Compact between Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico. Click here to learn more about the case's background.
  • The questions presented: "EXCEPTION OF THE UNITED STATE TO THE THIRD INTERIM REPORT OF THE SPECIAL MASTER: The United States excepts to the Special Master’s recommendation that the States’ joint motion to enter a consent decree be granted."[2]
  • The outcome: In a 5-4 opinion, the court held that because the proposed consent decree would dispose of the United States’ Compact claims without its consent, the States’ motion to enter the consent decree is denied.[1]


    • The case came under the court's original jurisdiction.

    Timeline

    The following timeline details key events in this case:

    • June 21, 2024: The U.S. Supreme Court held that because the proposed consent decree would dispose of the United States’ Compact claims without its consent, the States’ motion to enter the consent decree is denied.
    • March 20, 2024: The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument.
    • January 22, 2024: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
    • January 8, 2013: The state of Texas appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

    Background

    In 1938, Congress approved the Rio Grande Compact which apportioned water rights between Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. The United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation manages the Rio Grande Project, which regulates the flows of the Rio Grande and the water rights of people in those three states, as well as water from Elephant Butte Reservoir to Republic of Mexico.[3]

    In 2013, Texas filed suit against Colorado and New Mexico alleging that excessive groundwater pumping in New Mexico was depleting supplies of Rio Grande water for Texas, violating the compact. In 2014, the U.S. government moved to intervene in settling the dispute. The government also argued that New Mexico's excessive groundwater pumping could negatively affect the Elephant Butte Reservoir and could reduce the amount of water available for Texas and Mexico. The United States Supreme Court allowed the U.S. government to intervene. As the litigation continued, Texas and New Mexico agreed to a proposed consent decree that would resolve the case and codify a methodology determining each state’s share of the Rio Grande’s waters. The United States opposed consent decree, arguing that it would dispose the federal government’s claims that New Mexico's excessive groundwater pumping is violating the Compact.[4]

    Questions presented

    The petitioner presented the following questions to the court:[2]

    Questions presented:
    “ EXCEPTION OF THE UNITED STATE TO THE THIRD INTERIM REPORT OF

    THE SPECIAL MASTER: The United States excepts to the Special Master’s recommendation that the States’ joint motion to enter a consent decree be granted [5]

    		”

    Oral argument

    Audio

    Audio of oral argument:[6]



    Transcript

    Transcript of oral argument:[7]

    Outcome

    In a 5-4 opinion, the court held that because the proposed consent decree would dispose of the United States’ Compact claims without its consent, the States’ motion to enter the consent decree is denied. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson delivered the opinion of the court.[1]

    Opinion

    In the court's majority opinion, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote:[1]

    “

    Our decision today follows directly from our prior recognition of the United States’ distinct federal interests in the Rio Grande Compact. Having acknowledged those interests, and having allowed the United States to intervene to assert them, we cannot now allow Texas and New Mexico to leave the United States up the river without a paddle. Because the consent decree would dispose of the United States’ Compact claims without its consent, the United States’ exception is sustained, and the States’ motion to enter the consent decree is denied.[5]

    		”
    —Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

    Dissenting opinion

    Justice Neil Gorsuch filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Amy Coney Barrett.

    In his dissent, Justice Gorsuch wrote:[1]

    “

    The Court’s decision is inconsistent with how original jurisdiction cases normally proceed. It defies 100 years of this Court’s water law jurisprudence. And it represents a serious assault on the power of States to govern, as they always have, the water rights of users in their jurisdictions. The Special Master issued a detailed 115-page report laying all this out. His views were wise, his recommendations sound, and, respectfully, we should have done as he suggested.[5]

    		”
    —Justice Neil Gorsuch

    Text of the opinion

    Read the full opinion here.

    October term 2023-2024

    See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2023-2024

    The Supreme Court began hearing cases for the term on October 2, 2023. The court's yearly term begins on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October the following year. The court generally releases the majority of its decisions in mid-June.[8]


    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Supreme Court of the United States, Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado, decided June 21, 2024
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 U.S. Supreme Court, "141 Orig TEXAS V. NEW MEXICO," February 5, 2024
    3. ↑ SCOTUSblog, "Argument analysis: Justices press advocates on Rio Grande Compact and United States’ treaty obligations to Mexico," January 9, 2018
    4. ↑ U.S. Supreme Court, "TEXAS, PLAINTIFF v. NEW MEXICO AND COLORADO ON EXCEPTION TO THIRD INTERIM REPORT OF THE SPECIAL MASTER ," Decided June 21, 2024
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    6. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Oral Argument - Audio," argued March 19, 2024
    7. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Oral Argument - Transcript," argued March 19, 2024
    8. ↑ SupremeCourt.gov, "The Supreme Court at Work: The Term and Caseload," accessed January 24, 2022
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