Harte-Hanks Communications, Inc. v. Connaughton
Decided June 22, 1989. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 88-10 · 491 U.S. 657 (1989) · Cited 1,025 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.
Majority · 4
- John Paul Stevens · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Sandra Day O'Connor
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
Concurring · 5
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy · filed a concurring opinion
- Antonin Scalia · filed a concurring opinion
- Byron Raymond White · filed a concurring opinion
- Harry Andrew Blackmun · filed a concurring opinion
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
“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.
- Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts · 388 U.S. 130 (1967)
- Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. · 466 U.S. 485 (1984)
- New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
- St. Amant v. Thompson · 390 U.S. 727 (1968)
- Garrison v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 64 (1964)
- Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Assn., Inc. v. Bresler · 398 U.S. 6 (1970)
- Time, Inc. v. Pape · 401 U.S. 279 (1971)
- Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. · 418 U.S. 323 (1974)
- Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, Inc. · 403 U.S. 29 (1971)
- Pennekamp v. Florida · 328 U.S. 331 (1946)
- Beckley Newspapers Corp. v. Hanks · 389 U.S. 81 (1967)
- National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
- Miller v. California · 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
- Herbert v. Lando · 441 U.S. 153 (1979)
- Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell · 485 U.S. 46 (1988)
- Edwards v. South Carolina · 372 U.S. 229 (1963)
- Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. Hepps · 475 U.S. 767 (1986)
- Street v. New York · 394 U.S. 576 (1969)
- Niemotko v. Maryland · 340 U.S. 268 (1951)
- Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy · 401 U.S. 265 (1971)
- Jenkins v. Georgia · 418 U.S. 153 (1974)
- Hess v. Indiana · 414 U.S. 105 (1973)
- Henry v. Collins · 380 U.S. 356 (1965)
- Ocala Star-Banner Co. v. Damron · 401 U.S. 295 (1971)
- Ginzburg Et Al. v. Goldwater · 396 U.S. 1049 (1969)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Farmer v. Brennan · 511 U.S. 825 (1994)
- Hernandez v. New York · 500 U.S. 352 (1991)
- Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co. · 497 U.S. 1 (1990)
- Kolstad v. American Dental Assn. · 527 U.S. 526 (1999)
- Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc. · 501 U.S. 496 (1991)
- Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, Inc. · 515 U.S. 557 (1995)
- Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union · 535 U.S. 564 (2002)
- Counterman v. Colorado · 600 U.S. 66 (2023)
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).