United States v. Xavier Alvarez
567 U.S. 709 · Decided June 28, 2012 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
United States v. Xavier Alvarez was decided on June 28, 2012 by a vote of 6–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “First Amendment, miscellaneous” in the First Amendment area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 567 U.S. 709 · 132 S. Ct. 2537 · 183 L. Ed. 2d 574 · 2012 U.S. LEXIS 4879
- Docket number
- 11-210
- Decided
- June 28, 2012
- Argued
- February 22, 2012
- Court era
- Roberts Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party did not receive a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- Anthony M. Kennedy
- Opinion assigned by
- John G. Roberts Jr.
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- First Amendment, miscellaneous
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- 18-704
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Held unconstitutional
- An act of Congress
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sonia Sotomayor | Majority | |
| Justice Elena Kagan | Special concurrence |
Full case caption
United States, Petitioner v. Xavier Alvarez
SCDB identifiers: case 2011-076, docket 2011-076-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “First Amendment, miscellaneous”
- Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- Edmund G. Brown, Jr. v. Entertainment Merchants AssociationLaw held unconstitutional
- Borough of Duryea v. Charles J Guarnieri
- Nevada Commission on Ethics v. Michael A. Carrigan
- Lane v. Franks
- United States v. Robert J. StevensLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionLaw held unconstitutional
- American Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Steve BullockLaw held unconstitutional
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