City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network, Inc., et al.

Decided March 24, 1993. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 91-1200 · 507 U.S. 410 (1993) · Cited 856 times

Holding

The city’s selective and categorical ban on the distribution, via newsrack, of “commercial handbills” is not consistent with the dictates of the First Amendment.

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.

• Board of Trustees of State Univ. of NY v. Fox · 492 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 557 (1980)
• Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp. · 463 U.S. 60 (1983)
• Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. · 425 U.S. 748 (1976)
• Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar Assn. · 436 U.S. 447 (1978)
• Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego · 453 U.S. 490 (1981)
• Bates v. State Bar of Arizona · 433 U.S. 350 (1977)
• City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc. · 475 U.S. 41 (1986)
• City of Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. · 486 U.S. 750 (1988)
• Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations · 413 U.S. 376 (1973)
• Ward v. Rock Against Racism · 491 U.S. 781 (1989)
• Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Members of the New York State Crime Victims Board · 502 U.S. 105 (1991)
• Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence · 468 U.S. 288 (1984)
• Cohen v. California · 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
• Carey v. Brown · 447 U.S. 455 (1980)
• Linmark Associates, Inc. v. Township of Willingboro · 431 U.S. 85 (1977)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)
• 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)
• Texas v. Johnson · 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
• Stromberg v. California · 283 U.S. 359 (1931)
• Brandenburg v. Ohio · 395 U.S. 444 (1969)
• Lovell v. City of Griffin · 303 U.S. 444 (1938)
• Smith v. California · 361 U.S. 147 (1959)
• Carey v. Population Services International · 431 U.S. 678 (1977)

Cited by

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

• Reed v. Town of Gilbert · 576 U.S. 155 (2015)
• 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island · 517 U.S. 484 (1996)
• United States v. Edge Broadcasting Co. · 509 U.S. 418 (1993)
• Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly · 533 U.S. 525 (2001)
• Florida Bar v. Went for It, Inc. · 515 U.S. 618 (1995)
• Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Assn., Inc. v. United States · 527 U.S. 173 (1999)
• National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra · 585 U.S. 755 (2018)
• City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Austin, LLC · 596 U.S. 61 (2022)
• City of Ladue v. Gilleo · 512 U.S. 43 (1994)
• Rubin v. Coors Brewing Co. · 514 U.S. 476 (1995)
• Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliott, Inc. · 521 U.S. 457 (1997)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1993). 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).