Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe
402 U.S. 415 · Decided May 17, 1971 · 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
Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe was decided on May 17, 1971 by a vote of 8–1. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “First Amendment, miscellaneous” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 402 U.S. 415 · 91 S. Ct. 1575 · 29 L. Ed. 2d 1 · 1971 U.S. LEXIS 44
- Docket number
- 135
- Decided
- May 17, 1971
- Argued
- January 20, 1971
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority opinion
- Warren E. Burger
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- First Amendment, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority |
Full case caption
Organization for a Better Austin et al. v. Keefe
SCDB identifiers: case 1970-099, docket 1970-099-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “First Amendment, miscellaneous”
- New York Times Co. v. United States
- Flower v. United States
- Lloyd Corp., Ltd. v. Tanner
- Laird v. Tatum
- Healy v. James
- Gravel v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- United States v. Reidel
- United States v. Thirty-Seven (37) Photographs (Luros
- Cohen v. California
- Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, Inc.
- Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy
- Time, Inc. v. Pape
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Blount v. RizziLaw held unconstitutional
- Baird v. State Bar of Arizona
- In re Stolar
- Law Students Civil Rights Research Council, Inc. v. Wadmond
- United States v. Weller
- Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy
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