Smith v. California
361 U.S. 147 · Decided December 14, 1959 · 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
Smith v. California was decided on December 14, 1959 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. 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 municipal or other local ordinance unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 361 U.S. 147 · 80 S. Ct. 215 · 4 L. Ed. 2d 205 · 1959 U.S. LEXIS 1885
- Docket number
- 9
- Decided
- December 14, 1959
- Argued
- November 20, 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
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Obscenity, state
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Held unconstitutional
- A municipal or other local ordinance
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Felix Frankfurter | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Charles E. Whittaker | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority |
Full case caption
Smith v. California
SCDB identifiers: case 1959-013, docket 1959-013-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Obscenity, state”
- Kingsley International Pictures Corp. v. Regents of the University of the State of New YorkLaw 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)
- Talley v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
- In re Sawyer
- Times Film Corp. v. City of Chicago
- 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
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Bates v. City of Little RockLaw held unconstitutional
- Nelson v. County of Los Angeles
- Talley v. CaliforniaLaw held unconstitutional
- Nostrand v. Little
- Kreshik v. Saint Nicholas Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church of North America
- Flemming v. Nestor
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