Brown et al. v. Socialist Workers '74 Campaign Committee (ohio) et al.

Decided December 8, 1982. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 81-776 · 459 U.S. 87 (1982) · Cited 170 times

Holding

The disclosure provisions of the Ohio Campaign Expense Reporting Law requiring every candidate for political office to report the names and addresses of campaign contributors and recipients of campaign disbursements, cannot be constitutionally applied to appellee Socialist Workers Party (SWP), a minor political party that historically has been the object of harassment by government officials and private parties.

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.

“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.

• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Procunier v. Navarette · 434 U.S. 555 (1978)
• Sweezy v. New Hampshire Ex Rel. Wyman · 354 U.S. 234 (1957)
• Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee · 372 U.S. 539 (1963)
• Burroughs and Cannon v. United States · 290 U.S. 534 (1934)
• Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co. · 398 U.S. 144 (1970)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Pullman-Standard v. Swint · 456 U.S. 273 (1982)
• United States v. Bass · 404 U.S. 336 (1971)
• Shelton v. Tucker · 364 U.S. 479 (1960)
• Bates v. City of Little Rock · 361 U.S. 516 (1960)
• Lawn v. United States · 355 U.S. 339 (1958)
• California Bankers Assn. v. Shultz · 416 U.S. 21 (1974)
• Champlin Rfg. Co. v. Corporation Commission of Oklahoma · 286 U.S. 210 (1932)
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America v. United States · 330 U.S. 395 (1947)
• Mayor of Philadelphia v. Educational Equality League · 415 U.S. 605 (1974)
• United States v. Storer Broadcasting Co. · 351 U.S. 192 (1956)
• Irvine v. California · 347 U.S. 128 (1954)
• General Talking Pictures Corp. v. Western Electric Co. · 304 U.S. 175 (1938)

Cited by

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

• McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission · 514 U.S. 334 (1995)
• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
• Minnesota State Board for Community Colleges v. Knight · 465 U.S. 271 (1984)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. v. Arkansas Public Service Commission · 461 U.S. 375 (1983)
• Fulton v. Philadelphia · 593 U.S. 522 (2021)
• Members of the City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent · 466 U.S. 789 (1984)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc. · 547 U.S. 47 (2006)
• Meese v. Keene · 481 U.S. 465 (1987)
• Bendix Autolite Corp. v. Midwesco Enterprises, Inc. · 486 U.S. 888 (1988)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1982). 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).