New York v. Ferber

458 U.S. 747 · Decided July 2, 1982 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

New York v. Ferber was decided on July 2, 1982 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Obscenity, state” 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

New York v. Ferber

SCDB identifiers: case 1981-171, docket 1981-171-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “Obscenity, state”

• California ex Rel. Cooper v. Mitchell Brothers' Santa Ana Theater
  454 U.S. 90Decided November 30, 19816–2Per curiam
• New York State Liquor Authority v. Bellanca
  452 U.S. 714Decided June 22, 19817–2Per curiam
• Schad v. Borough of Mount EphraimLaw held unconstitutional
  452 U.S. 61Decided June 1, 19817–2Byron R. White
• Flynt v. Ohio
  451 U.S. 619Decided May 18, 19815–4Per curiam
• Vance v. Universal Amusement Co., Inc.Law held unconstitutional
  445 U.S. 308Decided March 18, 19805–4Per curiam
• Brockett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
  472 U.S. 491Decided June 19, 19856–2Byron R. White

See all

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

• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co.
  458 U.S. 886Decided July 2, 19828–0John Paul Stevens
• Board of Education v. Pico
  457 U.S. 853Decided June 25, 19825–4William J. Brennan Jr.
• Clements v. Fashing
  457 U.S. 957Decided June 25, 19825–4William H. Rehnquist
• Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court for the County of NorfolkLaw held unconstitutional
  457 U.S. 596Decided June 23, 19826–3William J. Brennan Jr.
• Brown v. HartlageLaw held unconstitutional
  456 U.S. 45Decided April 5, 19829–0William J. Brennan Jr.
• Village of Hoffman Estates v. the Flipside
  455 U.S. 489Decided March 2, 19828–0Thurgood Marshall

Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

• Federal Election Commission v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
  454 U.S. 27Decided November 10, 19819–0Byron R. White
• California ex Rel. Cooper v. Mitchell Brothers' Santa Ana Theater
  454 U.S. 90Decided November 30, 19816–2Per curiam
• Widmar v. Vincent
  454 U.S. 263Decided December 8, 19818–1Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Citizens Against Rent Control/coalition for Fair Housing v. City of BerkeleyLaw held unconstitutional
  454 U.S. 290Decided December 14, 19818–1Warren E. Burger
• United States v. Lee
  455 U.S. 252Decided February 23, 19829–0Warren E. Burger
• Village of Hoffman Estates v. the Flipside
  455 U.S. 489Decided March 2, 19828–0Thurgood Marshall

See all

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