United States v. Reidel
402 U.S. 351 · Decided May 3, 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
United States v. Reidel was decided on May 3, 1971 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White 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
- 402 U.S. 351 · 91 S. Ct. 1410 · 28 L. Ed. 2d 813 · 1971 U.S. LEXIS 46
- Docket number
- 534
- Decided
- May 3, 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
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Obscenity, federal
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority |
Full case caption
United States v. Reidel
SCDB identifiers: case 1970-096, docket 1970-096-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Obscenity, federal”
- United States v. Thirty-Seven (37) Photographs (Luros
- Blount v. RizziLaw held unconstitutional
- Rowan v. United States Post Office Department
- United States v. 12 200-ft. Reels of Super 8mm. Film (Paladini
- United States v. Orito
- Hamling v. United States
Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe
- Cohen v. California
- Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, Inc.
- New York Times Co. v. United States
- 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