Federal Trade Commission et al. v. Grolier Inc.
Decided June 6, 1983. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 82-372 · 462 U.S. 19 (1983) · Cited 387 times
Holding
Under Exemption 5, attorney work-product is exempt from mandatory disclosure without regard to the status of the litigation for which it was prepared.
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 9–0.
Majority · 7
- Byron Raymond White · delivered the opinion of the Court
- John Paul Stevens
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Thurgood Marshall
- Warren Earl Burger
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Concurring · 2
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- William Joseph Brennan Jr. · filed a concurring opinion
“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.
- Hickman v. Taylor · 329 U.S. 495 (1947)
- National Labor Relations Board v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. · 421 U.S. 132 (1975)
- Renegotiation Board v. Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. · 421 U.S. 168 (1975)
- Environmental Protection Agency v. Mink · 410 U.S. 73 (1973)
- Federal Open Market Committee of Federal Reserve System v. Merrill · 443 U.S. 340 (1979)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- United States v. Weber Aircraft Corp. · 465 U.S. 792 (1984)
- United States Department of Justice v. Julian · 486 U.S. 1 (1988)
- United States Department of Justice v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press · 489 U.S. 749 (1989)
- Jam v. International Finance Corp. · 586 U.S. 199 (2019)
- FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas · 493 U.S. 215 (1990)
- United States Department of Justice v. Landano · 508 U.S. 165 (1993)
- Ryder v. United States · 515 U.S. 177 (1995)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Byron Raymond White’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1983). 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).