Cohen v. Cowles Media Co., Dba Minneapolis Star & Tribune Co., et al.

Decided June 24, 1991. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 90-634 · 501 U.S. 663 (1991) · Cited 288 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 5–4.

“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.

• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co. · 433 U.S. 562 (1977)
• Branzburg v. Hayes · 408 U.S. 665 (1972)
• Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell · 485 U.S. 46 (1988)
• Smith v. Daily Mail Publishing Co. · 443 U.S. 97 (1979)
• Florida Star v. B. J. F. · 491 U.S. 524 (1989)
• Oklahoma Press Publishing Co. v. Walling · 327 U.S. 186 (1946)
• Associated Press v. United States · 326 U.S. 1 (1945)
• Minneapolis Star & Tribune Co. v. Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue · 460 U.S. 575 (1983)
• Associated Press v. National Labor Relations Board · 301 U.S. 103 (1937)
• Citizen Publishing Co. v. United States · 394 U.S. 131 (1969)
• Franks v. Delaware · 438 U.S. 154 (1978)
• Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. · 418 U.S. 323 (1974)
• Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources of Ore. v. Smith · 494 U.S. 872 (1990)
• Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia · 448 U.S. 555 (1980)
• Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts · 388 U.S. 130 (1967)
• Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission · 395 U.S. 367 (1969)
• First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti · 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
• Mills v. Maryland · 486 U.S. 367 (1988)
• Lovell v. City of Griffin · 303 U.S. 444 (1938)
• Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn · 420 U.S. 469 (1975)
• Murdock v. Pennsylvania · 319 U.S. 105 (1943)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co. · 458 U.S. 886 (1982)
• Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. · 472 U.S. 749 (1985)
• Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps · 475 U.S. 767 (1986)
• Orr v. Orr · 440 U.S. 268 (1979)
• Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations · 413 U.S. 376 (1973)
• Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee · 489 U.S. 214 (1989)
• University of Pennsylvania v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 493 U.S. 182 (1990)
• Landmark Communications, Inc. v. Virginia · 435 U.S. 829 (1978)

Cited by

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

• Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah · 508 U.S. 520 (1993)
• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 512 U.S. 622 (1994)
• United States v. Williams · 504 U.S. 36 (1992)
• Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Members of the New York State Crime Victims Board · 502 U.S. 105 (1991)

Official text

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

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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).