John Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union
535 U.S. 564 · Decided May 13, 2002 · 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
John Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union was decided on May 13, 2002 by a vote of 8–1. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Obscenity, federal” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 535 U.S. 564 · 122 S. Ct. 1700 · 152 L. Ed. 2d 771 · 2002 U.S. LEXIS 3421
- Docket number
- 00-1293
- Decided
- May 13, 2002
- Argued
- November 28, 2001
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- Clarence Thomas
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Obscenity, federal
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- 47 U.S.C. § 231
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
John Ashcroft, Attorney General v. American Civil Liberties Union, et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 2001-046, docket 2001-046-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Obscenity, federal”
- John D. Ashcroft v. the Free Speech CoalitionLaw held unconstitutional
- United States v. American Library Association, Inc.
- John D. Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union
- Janet Reno v. American Civil Liberties UnionLaw held unconstitutional
- United States v. Michael Williams
- United States v. X-Citement Video, Inc.
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Caren Cronk Thomas and Windy City Hemp Development Board v. Chicago Park District
- John D. Ashcroft v. the Free Speech CoalitionLaw held unconstitutional
- Tommy G. Thompson v. Western States Medical CenterLaw held unconstitutional
- City of Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc.
- Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. v. Village of StrattonLaw held unconstitutional
- Susan Tave Zelman v. Doris Simmons-Harris
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