Ashton v. Kentucky
384 U.S. 195 · Decided May 16, 1966 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Ashton v. Kentucky was decided on May 16, 1966 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Libel and defamation” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 384 U.S. 195 · 86 S. Ct. 1407 · 16 L. Ed. 2d 469 · 1966 U.S. LEXIS 1644
- Docket number
- 619
- Decided
- May 16, 1966
- Argued
- April 28, 1966
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- William O. Douglas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Libel and defamation
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Special concurrence | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Full case caption
Ashton v. Kentucky
SCDB identifiers: case 1965-103, docket 1965-103-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Libel and defamation”
- Rosenblatt v. Baer
- Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts
- Henry v. Collins
- Associated Press v. Walker
- Garrison v. LouisianaLaw held unconstitutional
- Beckley Newspapers Corp. v. Hanks
Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- A Book Named 'john Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure' v. Attorney General of Massachusetts
- Mishkin v. New York
- Adderley v. Florida
- Bond v. Floyd
- Time, Inc. v. Hill
- Keyishian v. Board of Regents of the University of the State of New YorkAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control BoardLaw held unconstitutional
- Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham
- Solomon v. South Carolina
- Rosenblatt v. Baer
- A Book Named 'john Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure' v. Attorney General of Massachusetts
- Ginzburg v. United States
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