Roth v. United States
354 U.S. 476 · Decided June 24, 1957 · 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
Roth v. United States was decided on June 24, 1957 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. 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
- 354 U.S. 476 · 77 S. Ct. 1304 · 1 L. Ed. 2d 1498 · 1957 U.S. LEXIS 587
- Docket number
- 582
- Decided
- June 24, 1957
- Argued
- April 22, 1957
- Court era
- Warren 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
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Obscenity, federal
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 1461
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harold H. Burton | Majority | |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority |
Full case caption
Roth v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1956-129, docket 1956-129-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Obscenity, federal”
- Manual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day
- United States v. Alpers
- Ginzburg v. United States
- Redmond et Ux. v. United States
- Aday v. United States
- Books, Inc. v. United States
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Butler v. MichiganLaw held unconstitutional
- United States v. International Union United Automobile
- Watkins v. United States
- Sweezy v. New Hampshire
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. Vogt, Inc.
- Yates v. United States
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