Greatly revised and extended the circumstances under which the abstention doctrine, whereby federal courts can decline jurisdiction they would otherwise assert, applies. Decided March 24, 1976 (argued January 14, 1976). Opinion of the Court: William J. Brennan → go there Dissenting: Stewart, Stevens. Topic: Other. Colorado River Water Conservation District v. United States, 424 U.S. 800 (1976), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States extensively refined the abstention doctrine to prevent duplicative litigation between state and federal courts. Wiki link