Supreme Court of the United States

Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. Shanklin

April 17, 2000529 U.S. 344

Summary

Justice Ginsburg, joined by Justice Stevens, dissents from the Court’s holding that federal funding of railroad crossing improvements preempts state tort law. She argues that funding alone does not preempt state safety regulations, leaving no federal standard to replace state negligence law. Justice Breyer concurred in the majority opinion, noting that the Government could avoid this result by amending relevant regulations.