Kingsley International Pictures Corp. v. Regents of the University of the State of New York
360 U.S. 684 · Decided June 29, 1959 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Kingsley International Pictures Corp. v. Regents of the University of the State of New York was decided on June 29, 1959 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Potter Stewart 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
- 360 U.S. 684 · 79 S. Ct. 1362 · 3 L. Ed. 2d 1512 · 1959 U.S. LEXIS 662
- Docket number
- 394
- Decided
- June 29, 1959
- Argued
- April 23, 1959
- 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
- Potter Stewart
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- 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 | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Kingsley International Pictures Corp. v. Regents of the University of the State of New York
SCDB identifiers: case 1958-135, docket 1958-135-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Obscenity, state”
- Smith v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
- Kingsley Books, Inc. v. Brown
- Butler v. MichiganLaw held unconstitutional
- Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan
- Jacobellis v. Ohio
- A Quantity of Copies of Books v. KansasLaw held unconstitutional
Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- In re Sawyer
- Talley v. CaliforniaLaw 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
- Staub v. City of BaxleyLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Flaxer v. United States
- Scull v. Virginia ex Rel. Committee on Law Reform and Racial Activities
- Vitarelli v. Seaton
- Uphaus v. Wyman
- Barenblatt v. United States
- Raley v. Ohio
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