Saxbe v. Washington Post Co.

417 U.S. 843 · Decided June 24, 1974 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Saxbe v. Washington Post Co. was decided on June 24, 1974 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “First Amendment, miscellaneous” 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

Saxbe, Attorney General, et al. v. Washington Post Co. et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1973-152, docket 1973-152-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “First Amendment, miscellaneous”

• Pell v. Procunier
  417 U.S. 817Decided June 24, 19745–4Potter Stewart
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  418 U.S. 298Decided June 25, 19745–4Harry A. Blackmun
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• Plummer v. City of ColumbusLaw held unconstitutional
  414 U.S. 2Decided October 15, 19735–4Per curiam
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  420 U.S. 546Decided March 18, 19756–3Harry A. Blackmun

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

• Hamling v. United States
  418 U.S. 87Decided June 24, 19745–4William H. Rehnquist
• Jenkins v. Georgia
  418 U.S. 153Decided June 24, 19749–0William H. Rehnquist
• Old Dominion Branch No. 496 v. Austin
  418 U.S. 264Decided June 25, 19746–3Thurgood Marshall
• Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc.
  418 U.S. 323Decided June 25, 19747–2Lewis F. Powell Jr.
• Spence v. WashingtonLaw held unconstitutional
  418 U.S. 405Decided June 25, 19746–3Per curiam
• Lewis v. City of New OrleansLaw held unconstitutional
  415 U.S. 130Decided February 20, 19746–3William J. Brennan Jr.

Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

• Plummer v. City of ColumbusLaw held unconstitutional
  414 U.S. 2Decided October 15, 19735–4Per curiam
• Norwell v. City of Cincinnati
  414 U.S. 14Decided November 5, 19739–0Per curiam
• Musser v. United States
  414 U.S. 31Decided November 12, 19736–3Per curiam
• Hess v. Indiana
  414 U.S. 105Decided November 19, 19736–3Per curiam
• Communist Party of Indiana v. WhitcombLaw held unconstitutional
  414 U.S. 441Decided January 9, 19749–0William J. Brennan Jr.
• Lewis v. City of New OrleansLaw held unconstitutional
  415 U.S. 130Decided February 20, 19746–3William J. Brennan Jr.

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