Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/10pdf/09-893.pdf
Page Number: 39

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AT&T MOBILITY LLC v. CONCEPCION 

BREYER, J., dissenting 

sovereigns  in  our  federal  system,  we  have  long  presumed 
that  Congress  does  not  cavalierly  pre-empt  state-law 
causes  of  action”).  But  federalism  is  as  much  a  question
of  deeds  as  words.  It  often  takes  the  form  of  a  concrete 
decision  by  this  Court  that  respects  the  legitimacy  of  a
State’s  action  in  an  individual  case.    Here,  recognition  of
that federalist ideal, embodied in specific language in this 
particular  statute,  should  lead  us  to  uphold  California’s 
law,  not  to  strike  it  down.  We  do  not  honor  federalist 
principles in their breach.
With respect, I dissent.