City of Renton et al. v. Playtime Theatres, Inc., et al.

Decided February 25, 1986. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 84-1360 · 475 U.S. 41 (1986) · Cited 1,818 times

Holding

The ordinance is a valid governmental response to the serious problems created by adult theaters and satisfies 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 7–2.

“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.

• Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc. · 427 U.S. 50 (1976)
• Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence · 468 U.S. 288 (1984)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. · 452 U.S. 640 (1981)
• Consolidated Edison Co. of New York v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 530 (1980)
• Williamson v. Lee Optical of Oklahoma, Inc. · 348 U.S. 483 (1955)
• Police Dept. of Chicago v. Mosley · 408 U.S. 92 (1972)
• Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville · 422 U.S. 205 (1975)
• Schad v. Borough of Mount Ephraim · 452 U.S. 61 (1981)
• Carey v. Brown · 447 U.S. 455 (1980)
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District · 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
• Procunier v. Martinez · 416 U.S. 396 (1974)
• Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. · 425 U.S. 748 (1976)
• Members of the City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent · 466 U.S. 789 (1984)
• Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. · 466 U.S. 485 (1984)
• United States Civil Service Commission v. National Ass'n of Letter Carriers · 413 U.S. 548 (1973)
• Doran v. Salem Inn, Inc. · 422 U.S. 922 (1975)
• Terminiello v. Chicago · 337 U.S. 1 (1949)
• Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego · 453 U.S. 490 (1981)
• Greer v. Spock · 424 U.S. 828 (1976)
• Lehman v. City of Shaker Heights · 418 U.S. 298 (1974)
• Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley · 408 U.S. 92 (1972)
• Niemotko v. Maryland · 340 U.S. 268 (1951)
• City of El Paso v. Simmons · 379 U.S. 497 (1965)
• City of Chicago v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. · 357 U.S. 77 (1958)

Cited by

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

• Boos v. Barry · 485 U.S. 312 (1988)
• City of Erie v. Pap's A. M. · 529 U.S. 277 (2000)
• City of Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc. · 535 U.S. 425 (2002)
• Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc. · 501 U.S. 560 (1991)
• Ward v. Rock Against Racism · 491 U.S. 781 (1989)
• FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas · 493 U.S. 215 (1990)
• Iancu v. Brunetti · 588 U.S. 388 (2019)
• City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network, Inc. · 507 U.S. 410 (1993)
• Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly · 533 U.S. 525 (2001)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union · 521 U.S. 844 (1997)
• Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Members of the New York State Crime Victims Board · 502 U.S. 105 (1991)
• District of Columbia v. Heller · 554 U.S. 570 (2008)
• Reed v. Town of Gilbert · 576 U.S. 155 (2015)
• United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. · 529 U.S. 803 (2000)
• City of Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. · 486 U.S. 750 (1988)
• City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co. · 488 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Virginia v. Black · 538 U.S. 343 (2003)
• City of Ladue v. Gilleo · 512 U.S. 43 (1994)
• Posadas De Puerto Rico Associates v. Tourism Co. of Puerto Rico · 478 U.S. 328 (1986)
• Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Ore. v. Smith · 494 U.S. 872 (1990)
• Waters v. Churchill · 511 U.S. 661 (1994)
• Louisiana Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. FCC · 476 U.S. 355 (1986)
• Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency · 535 U.S. 302 (2002)
• United States v. National Treasury Employees Union · 513 U.S. 454 (1995)
• Stenberg v. Carhart · 530 U.S. 914 (2000)
• Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists · 476 U.S. 747 (1986)
• Florida Bar v. Went for It, Inc. · 515 U.S. 618 (1995)
• Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC · 528 U.S. 377 (2000)
• Bartnicki v. Vopper · 532 U.S. 514 (2001)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1986). 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).