Freedman v. Maryland

Decided March 1, 1965. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 69 · 380 U.S. 51 (1965) · Cited 1,485 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 9–0.

“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.

• Times Film Corp. v. City of Chicago · 365 U.S. 43 (1961)
• Kingsley Books, Inc. v. Brown · 354 U.S. 436 (1957)
• Bantam Books, Inc. v. Sullivan · 372 U.S. 58 (1963)
• Marcus v. Search Warrant of Property · 367 U.S. 717 (1961)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)
• Haguer v. Committee for Industrial Organization · 307 U.S. 496 (1939)
• Speiser v. Randall · 357 U.S. 513 (1958)
• Near v. Minnesota Ex Rel. Olson · 283 U.S. 697 (1931)
• Lovell v. City of Griffin · 303 U.S. 444 (1938)
• Thomas v. Collins · 323 U.S. 516 (1945)
• Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson · 343 U.S. 495 (1952)
• Staub v. City of Baxley · 355 U.S. 313 (1958)
• A Quantity of Copies of Books v. Kansas · 378 U.S. 205 (1964)
• Saia v. New York · 334 U.S. 558 (1948)
• Manual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day · 370 U.S. 478 (1962)
• Kingsley International Pictures Corp. v. Regents of the University · 360 U.S. 684 (1959)
• Superior Films, Inc. v. Department of Ed. of Ohio · 346 U.S. 587 (1954)

Cited by

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

• FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas · 493 U.S. 215 (1990)
• City of Littleton v. Z. J. Gifts D-4, L. L. C. · 541 U.S. 774 (2004)
• United States v. Thirty-Seven (37) Photographs · 402 U.S. 363 (1971)
• City of Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. · 486 U.S. 750 (1988)
• Vance v. Universal Amusement Co. · 445 U.S. 308 (1980)
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
• Southeastern Promotions, Ltd. v. Conrad · 420 U.S. 546 (1975)
• Thomas v. Chicago Park District · 534 U.S. 316 (2002)
• Blount v. Rizzi · 400 U.S. 410 (1971)
• Heller v. New York · 413 U.S. 483 (1973)
• Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham · 394 U.S. 147 (1969)
• Waters v. Churchill · 511 U.S. 661 (1994)
• Interstate Circuit, Inc. v. City of Dallas · 390 U.S. 676 (1968)
• City News & Novelty, Inc. v. City of Waukesha · 531 U.S. 278 (2001)
• Greer v. Spock · 424 U.S. 828 (1976)
• Carroll v. President & Commissioners of Princess Anne · 393 U.S. 175 (1968)
• Brown v. Glines · 444 U.S. 348 (1980)
• Ward v. Rock Against Racism · 491 U.S. 781 (1989)
• Branzburg v. Hayes · 408 U.S. 665 (1972)
• Nebraska Press Assn. v. Stuart · 427 U.S. 539 (1976)
• Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton · 413 U.S. 49 (1973)
• Walker v. City of Birmingham · 388 U.S. 307 (1967)
• Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc. · 479 U.S. 238 (1986)
• Byrne v. Karalexis · 401 U.S. 216 (1971)
• National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie · 432 U.S. 43 (1977)
• Teitel Film Corp. v. Cusack · 390 U.S. 139 (1968)
• Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth · 408 U.S. 564 (1972)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 557 (1980)
• Dickerson v. United States · 530 U.S. 428 (2000)
• Moore v. City of East Cleveland · 431 U.S. 494 (1977)

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).