City of Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Publishing Co.

Decided June 17, 1988. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 86-1042 · 486 U.S. 750 (1988) · Cited 1,256 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 4–3.

“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.

• Kovacs v. Cooper · 336 U.S. 77 (1949)
• Saia v. New York · 334 U.S. 558 (1948)
• Freedman v. Maryland · 380 U.S. 51 (1965)
• Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham · 394 U.S. 147 (1969)
• Lovell v. City of Griffin · 303 U.S. 444 (1938)
• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 536 (1965)
• Staub v. City of Baxley · 355 U.S. 313 (1958)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
• Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego · 453 U.S. 490 (1981)
• Secretary of State of Md. v. Joseph H. Munson Co. · 467 U.S. 947 (1984)
• New York Ex Rel. Lieberman v. Van De Carr · 199 U.S. 552 (1905)
• Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. · 425 U.S. 748 (1976)
• 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)
• Haguer v. Committee for Industrial Organization · 307 U.S. 496 (1939)
• Schneider v. State (Town of Irvington) · 308 U.S. 147 (1939)
• Kunz v. New York · 340 U.S. 290 (1951)
• Minneapolis Star & Tribune Co. v. Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue · 460 U.S. 575 (1983)
• Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. · 455 U.S. 489 (1982)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc. · 475 U.S. 41 (1986)
• Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc. · 427 U.S. 50 (1976)
• Cox v. New Hampshire · 312 U.S. 569 (1941)
• Oklahoma Press Publishing Co. v. Walling · 327 U.S. 186 (1946)
• Consolidated Edison Co. of New York v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 530 (1980)
• Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley · 408 U.S. 92 (1972)
• Niemotko v. Maryland · 340 U.S. 268 (1951)
• Talley v. California · 362 U.S. 60 (1960)
• Associated Press v. National Labor Relations Board · 301 U.S. 103 (1937)
• Poulos v. New Hampshire · 345 U.S. 395 (1953)

Cited by

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

• Ward v. Rock Against Racism · 491 U.S. 781 (1989)
• City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network, Inc. · 507 U.S. 410 (1993)
• FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas · 493 U.S. 215 (1990)
• Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement · 505 U.S. 123 (1992)
• National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley · 524 U.S. 569 (1998)
• Riley v. National Federation of Blind of North Carolina, Inc. · 487 U.S. 781 (1988)
• Stenberg v. Carhart · 530 U.S. 914 (2000)

Official text

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

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William Joseph Brennan Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).