Edwards et al. v. South Carolina

Decided February 25, 1963. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 86 · 372 U.S. 229 (1963) · Cited 931 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 8–1.

“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.

• Feiner v. New York · 340 U.S. 315 (1951)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Terminiello v. Chicago · 337 U.S. 1 (1949)
• Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)
• Stromberg v. California · 283 U.S. 359 (1931)
• De Jonge v. Oregon · 299 U.S. 353 (1937)
• Garner v. Louisiana · 368 U.S. 157 (1961)
• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire · 315 U.S. 568 (1942)
• Schneider v. State (Town of Irvington) · 308 U.S. 147 (1939)
• Blackburn v. Alabama · 361 U.S. 199 (1960)
• Kovacs v. Cooper · 336 U.S. 77 (1949)
• Gitlow v. New York · 268 U.S. 652 (1925)
• Whitney v. California · 274 U.S. 357 (1927)
• Thompson v. City of Louisville · 362 U.S. 199 (1960)
• Niemotko v. Maryland · 340 U.S. 268 (1951)
• Pennekamp v. Florida · 328 U.S. 331 (1946)
• Fiske v. Kansas · 274 U.S. 380 (1927)

Cited by

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

• Adderley v. Florida · 385 U.S. 39 (1966)
• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 559 (1965)
• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 536 (1965)
• Brown v. Louisiana · 383 U.S. 131 (1966)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District · 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
• Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. · 466 U.S. 485 (1984)
• Walker v. City of Birmingham · 388 U.S. 307 (1967)
• Barr v. City of Columbia · 378 U.S. 146 (1964)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Claiborne Hardware Co. · 458 U.S. 886 (1982)
• Greer v. Spock · 424 U.S. 828 (1976)
• Matal v. Tam · 582 U.S. 218 (2017)
• Cohen v. California · 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
• City of Greenwood v. Peacock · 384 U.S. 808 (1966)
• Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, Inc. · 515 U.S. 557 (1995)
• United States v. Kokinda · 497 U.S. 720 (1990)
• Cameron v. Johnson · 390 U.S. 611 (1968)
• Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Democratic National Committee · 412 U.S. 94 (1973)
• United States Postal Service v. Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations · 453 U.S. 114 (1981)
• McDonald v. Smith · 472 U.S. 479 (1985)
• Gregory v. City of Chicago · 394 U.S. 111 (1969)
• In Re WINSHIP · 397 U.S. 358 (1970)
• Gideon v. Wainwright · 372 U.S. 335 (1963)
• Connick Ex Rel. Parish of Orleans v. Myers · 461 U.S. 138 (1983)
• Griswold v. Connecticut · 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
• New York v. Ferber · 458 U.S. 747 (1982)
• Branzburg v. Hayes · 408 U.S. 665 (1972)
• Oliver v. United States · 466 U.S. 170 (1984)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Potter Stewart’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).