Donaldson, Postmaster General, v. Read Magazine, Inc. et al.
Decided March 8, 1948. Hugo Lafayette Black delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 50 · 333 U.S. 178 (1948) · Cited 143 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 7–2.
Majority · 7
- Hugo Lafayette Black · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Felix Frankfurter
- Frank Murphy
- Frederick Moore Vinson
- Robert Houghwout Jackson
- Stanley Forman Reed
- Wiley Blount Rutledge
Dissenting · 2
- Harold Hitz Burton · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Orville Douglas
“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.
- United States Ex Rel. Milwaukee Social Democratic Publishing Co. v. Burleson · 255 U.S. 407 (1921)
- Near v. Minnesota Ex Rel. Olson · 283 U.S. 697 (1931)
- United States v. Swift & Co. · 286 U.S. 106 (1932)
- Commissioner v. Heininger · 320 U.S. 467 (1943)
- Grosjean v. American Press Co. · 297 U.S. 233 (1936)
- Bridges v. California · 314 U.S. 252 (1941)
- Craig v. Harney · 331 U.S. 367 (1947)
- Durland v. United States · 161 U.S. 306 (1896)
- United States v. Morgan · 307 U.S. 183 (1939)
- Federal Trade Commission v. Standard Education Society · 302 U.S. 112 (1937)
- Skinner & Eddy Corp. v. United States · 249 U.S. 557 (1919)
- United States v. Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien Gesellschaft · 239 U.S. 466 (1916)
- Inland Steel Co. v. United States · 306 U.S. 153 (1939)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Blount v. Rizzi · 400 U.S. 410 (1971)
- Illinois Ex Rel. Madigan, Attorney General of Illinois v. Telemarketing Associates, Inc. · 538 U.S. 600 (2003)
- United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
- Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. · 425 U.S. 748 (1976)
- United States v. Alvarez · 567 U.S. 709 (2012)
- Reilly v. Pinkus · 338 U.S. 269 (1949)
- Fulton v. Philadelphia · 593 U.S. 522 (2021)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
Explore from here
Hugo Lafayette Black’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).