Bartnicki et al. v. Vopper, Aka Williams, et al.
Decided May 21, 2001. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 99-1687 · 532 U.S. 514 (2001) · Cited 378 times
Holding
The First Amendment protects the disclosures made by respondents in this suit.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 6–3.
Majority · 4
- John Paul Stevens · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy
- David Hackett Souter
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Concurring · 2
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Stephen Gerald Breyer · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 3
- Antonin Scalia
- Clarence Thomas
- William Hubbs Rehnquist · filed a dissenting opinion
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Florida Star v. B. J. F. · 491 U.S. 524 (1989)
- Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 512 U.S. 622 (1994)
- Smith v. Daily Mail Publishing Co. · 443 U.S. 97 (1979)
- New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
- New York v. Ferber · 458 U.S. 747 (1982)
- New York Times Co. v. United States · 403 U.S. 713 (1971)
- Landmark Communications, Inc. v. Virginia · 435 U.S. 829 (1978)
- Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises · 471 U.S. 539 (1985)
- Bridges v. California · 314 U.S. 252 (1941)
- Katz v. United States · 389 U.S. 347 (1967)
- Elkins v. United States · 364 U.S. 206 (1960)
- Osborne v. Ohio · 495 U.S. 103 (1990)
- Gelbard v. United States · 408 U.S. 41 (1972)
- Roth v. United States · 354 U.S. 476 (1957)
- Stromberg v. California · 283 U.S. 359 (1931)
- Berger v. New York · 388 U.S. 41 (1967)
- Whitney v. California · 274 U.S. 357 (1927)
- Time, Inc. v. Hill · 385 U.S. 374 (1967)
- United States v. National Treasury Employees Union · 513 U.S. 454 (1995)
- Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC · 528 U.S. 377 (2000)
- Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. · 418 U.S. 323 (1974)
- United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
- Ward v. Rock Against Racism · 491 U.S. 781 (1989)
- National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
- Oregon v. Elstad · 470 U.S. 298 (1985)
- Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)
- Olmstead v. United States · 277 U.S. 438 (1928)
- Branzburg v. Hayes · 408 U.S. 665 (1972)
- City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc. · 475 U.S. 41 (1986)
- Seattle Times Co. v. Rhinehart · 467 U.S. 20 (1984)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee · 533 U.S. 431 (2001)
- McCutcheon v. Federal Election Comm'n · 572 U.S. 185 (2014)
- Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition · 535 U.S. 234 (2002)
- McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
- United States v. Alvarez · 567 U.S. 709 (2012)
- United States v. United Foods, Inc. · 533 U.S. 405 (2001)
- Fulton v. Philadelphia · 593 U.S. 522 (2021)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
Explore from here
John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2001). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).