Butler v. Michigan
352 U.S. 380 · Decided February 25, 1957 · 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
Butler v. Michigan was decided on February 25, 1957 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote the opinion 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
- 352 U.S. 380 · 77 S. Ct. 524 · 1 L. Ed. 2d 412 · 1957 U.S. LEXIS 1252
- Docket number
- 16
- Decided
- February 25, 1957
- Argued
- October 16, 1956
- 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
- Felix Frankfurter
- 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 | |
| Justice Stanley F. Reed | Majority | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority |
Full case caption
Butler v. Michigan
SCDB identifiers: case 1956-037, docket 1956-037-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Obscenity, state”
- Kingsley Books, Inc. v. Brown
- Kingsley International Pictures Corp. v. Regents of the University of the State of New YorkLaw held unconstitutional
- Smith v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
- Superior Films, Inc. v. Department of Education of Ohio
- Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan
- Jacobellis v. Ohio
Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. Vogt, Inc.
- Staub v. City of BaxleyLaw held unconstitutional
- Speiser v. RandallLaw held unconstitutional
- First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles v. County of Los AngelesLaw held unconstitutional
- First Methodist Church of San Leandro v. Horstmann
- In re Sawyer
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- United States v. International Union United Automobile
- Watkins v. United States
- Sweezy v. New Hampshire
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. Vogt, Inc.
- Yates v. United States
- Service v. Dulles
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