Jeffrey M. Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc.

501 U.S. 496 · Decided June 20, 1991 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Jeffrey M. Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc. was decided on June 20, 1991 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Libel and defamation” in the First Amendment area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Jeffrey M. Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc., Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. and Janet Malcolm

SCDB identifiers: case 1990-115, docket 1990-115-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)

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Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

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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