Counterman v. Colorado

Decided June 27, 2023. Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 22-138 · 600 U.S. 66 (2023) · Cited 216 times

Holding

To establish that a statement is a “true threat” unprotected by the First Amendment, the State must prove that the defendant had some subjective understanding of the statements’ threatening nature, based on a showing no more demanding than recklessness.

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. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

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.

• Virginia v. Black · 538 U.S. 343 (2003)
• Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. · 418 U.S. 323 (1974)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• United States v. Stevens · 559 U.S. 460 (2010)
• Hamling v. United States · 418 U.S. 87 (1974)
• Brandenburg v. Ohio · 395 U.S. 444 (1969)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co. · 458 U.S. 886 (1982)
• Hess v. Indiana · 414 U.S. 105 (1973)
• Watts v. United States · 394 U.S. 705 (1969)
• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire · 315 U.S. 568 (1942)
• Garrison v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 64 (1964)
• Rogers v. United States · 422 U.S. 35 (1975)
• Mishkin v. New York · 383 U.S. 502 (1966)
• Miller v. California · 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
• Speiser v. Randall · 357 U.S. 513 (1958)
• Tison v. Arizona · 481 U.S. 137 (1987)
• United States v. Bailey · 444 U.S. 394 (1980)
• Smith v. California · 361 U.S. 147 (1959)
• Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. · 466 U.S. 485 (1984)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• Cohen v. California · 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
• Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, Inc. · 403 U.S. 29 (1971)
• Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio · 471 U.S. 626 (1985)
• Abrams v. United States · 250 U.S. 616 (1919)
• United States v. Alvarez · 567 U.S. 709 (2012)
• In re R. M. J. · 455 U.S. 191 (1982)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Roth v. United States · 354 U.S. 476 (1957)
• Morissette v. United States · 342 U.S. 246 (1952)
• New York v. Ferber · 458 U.S. 747 (1982)

Cited by

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

• Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton · 606 U.S. 461 (2025)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2023). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).