A Quantity of Copies of Books v. Kansas
378 U.S. 205 · Decided June 22, 1964 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
A Quantity of Copies of Books v. Kansas was decided on June 22, 1964 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Obscenity, state” in the First Amendment area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 378 U.S. 205 · 84 S. Ct. 1723 · 12 L. Ed. 2d 809 · 1964 U.S. LEXIS 823
- Docket number
- 449
- Decided
- June 22, 1964
- Argued
- April 1, 1964
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Obscenity, state
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Held unconstitutional
- A state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Arthur J. Goldberg | Majority |
Full case caption
A Quantity of Copies of Books et al. v. Kansas
SCDB identifiers: case 1963-159, docket 1963-159-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Obscenity, state”
- Jacobellis v. Ohio
- Tralins v. Gerstein
- Grove Press, Inc. v. Gerstein
- Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan
- A Book Named 'john Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure' v. Attorney General of Massachusetts
- Mishkin v. New York
Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- New York Times Co. v. SullivanLaw held unconstitutional
- Garrison v. LouisianaLaw held unconstitutional
- Cox v. LouisianaLaw held unconstitutional
- Cox v. Louisiana
- Freedman v. MarylandLaw held unconstitutional
- Henry v. Collins
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Fields v. City of Fairfield.
- Greene v. United States
- Kreznar v. United States.
- New York Times Co. v. SullivanLaw held unconstitutional
- Rabinowitz v. Kennedy
- Henry v. City of Rock Hill
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error