John D. Ashcroft v. the Free Speech Coalition
535 U.S. 234 · Decided April 16, 2002 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
John D. Ashcroft v. the Free Speech Coalition was decided on April 16, 2002 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Obscenity, federal” in the First Amendment area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 535 U.S. 234 · 122 S. Ct. 1389 · 152 L. Ed. 2d 403 · 2002 U.S. LEXIS 2789
- Docket number
- 00-795
- Decided
- April 16, 2002
- Argued
- October 30, 2001
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Anthony M. Kennedy
- Opinion assigned by
- John Paul Stevens
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Obscenity, federal
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 2252
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Held unconstitutional
- An act of Congress
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
John D. Ashcroft, Attorney General, et al. v. the Free Speech Coalition et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 2001-038, docket 2001-038-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Obscenity, federal”
- John Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union
- 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
- Tommy G. Thompson v. Western States Medical CenterLaw held unconstitutional
- City of Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc.
- John Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union
- 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