Brockett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc., et al.

Decided June 19, 1985. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 84-28 · 472 U.S. 491 (1985) · Cited 810 times

Holding

The Court of Appeals erred in facially invalidating the statute in its entirety.

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 6–2.

“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.

• Roth v. United States · 354 U.S. 476 (1957)
• Miller v. California · 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• A Book Named \John Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure\" v. Attorney General of Massachusetts" · 383 U.S. 413 (1966)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Railroad Comm'n of Tex. v. Pullman Co. · 312 U.S. 496 (1941)
• New York v. Ferber · 458 U.S. 747 (1982)
• United States v. Raines · 362 U.S. 17 (1960)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Members of the City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent · 466 U.S. 789 (1984)
• Babbitt v. United Farm Workers National Union · 442 U.S. 289 (1979)
• Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton · 413 U.S. 49 (1973)
• Secretary of State of Md. v. Joseph H. Munson Co. · 467 U.S. 947 (1984)
• United States v. Grace · 461 U.S. 171 (1983)
• Marsh v. Alabama · 326 U.S. 501 (1946)
• Harman v. Forssenius · 380 U.S. 528 (1965)
• Champlin Rfg. Co. v. Corporation Commission of Oklahoma · 286 U.S. 210 (1932)
• Pierson v. Ray · 386 U.S. 547 (1967)
• Tennessee v. Garner · 471 U.S. 1 (1985)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Cort v. Ash · 422 U.S. 66 (1975)
• Bishop v. Wood · 426 U.S. 341 (1976)
• Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)
• Gooding v. Wilson · 405 U.S. 518 (1972)
• United States Civil Service Commission v. National Ass'n of Letter Carriers · 413 U.S. 548 (1973)
• Palmer v. Hoffman · 318 U.S. 109 (1943)
• Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff · 467 U.S. 229 (1984)
• Time, Inc. v. Hill · 385 U.S. 374 (1967)
• Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 444 U.S. 620 (1980)
• Bellotti v. Baird · 428 U.S. 132 (1976)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman · 581 U.S. 37 (2017)
• United States v. National Treasury Employees Union · 513 U.S. 454 (1995)
• United States v. Booker · 543 U.S. 220 (2005)
• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union · 521 U.S. 844 (1997)
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
• Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales · 545 U.S. 748 (2005)
• Edwards v. Aguillard · 482 U.S. 578 (1987)
• Iancu v. Brunetti · 588 U.S. 388 (2019)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• City of Houston v. Hill · 482 U.S. 451 (1987)
• Stenberg v. Carhart · 530 U.S. 914 (2000)
• Webster v. Reproductive Health Services · 492 U.S. 490 (1989)
• Massachusetts v. Oakes · 491 U.S. 576 (1989)
• Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati · 475 U.S. 469 (1986)
• City of St. Louis v. Praprotnik · 485 U.S. 112 (1988)
• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey · 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
• Arizonans for Official English v. Arizona · 520 U.S. 43 (1997)
• Heller v. Doe Ex Rel. Doe · 509 U.S. 312 (1993)
• Bowen v. Massachusetts · 487 U.S. 879 (1988)
• City of Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. · 486 U.S. 750 (1988)
• Board of Trustees of State Univ. of NY v. Fox · 492 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Frisby v. Schultz · 487 U.S. 474 (1988)
• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius · 567 U.S. 519 (2012)
• Virginia v. American Booksellers Assn., Inc. · 484 U.S. 383 (1988)
• Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement · 505 U.S. 123 (1992)
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow · 542 U.S. 1 (2004)
• Sable Communications of California, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 492 U.S. 115 (1989)
• Renne v. Geary · 501 U.S. 312 (1991)
• Board of Airport Comm'rs of Los Angeles v. Jews for Jesus, Inc. · 482 U.S. 569 (1987)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Byron Raymond White’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). 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).