In Re Primus

Decided May 30, 1978. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 77-56 · 436 U.S. 412 (1978) · Cited 401 times

Holding

South Carolina's application of its Disciplinary Rules to appellant's solicitation by letter on the ACLU's behalf violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

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 7–1.

“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.

• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• United Mine Workers v. Illinois State Bar Ass'n · 389 U.S. 217 (1967)
• Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Virginia Ex Rel. Virginia State Bar · 377 U.S. 1 (1964)
• United Transportation Union v. State Bar of Michigan · 401 U.S. 576 (1971)
• Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. · 425 U.S. 748 (1976)
• Bates v. State Bar of Arizona · 433 U.S. 350 (1977)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• Pickering v. Board of Ed. of Township High School Dist. 205, Will Cty. · 391 U.S. 563 (1968)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Bradley v. School Bd. of Richmond · 416 U.S. 696 (1974)
• Thomas v. Collins · 323 U.S. 516 (1945)
• Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Wilderness Society · 421 U.S. 240 (1975)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• Sherbert v. Verner · 374 U.S. 398 (1963)
• Haguer v. Committee for Industrial Organization · 307 U.S. 496 (1939)
• Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, Inc. · 365 U.S. 127 (1961)
• Bouie v. City of Columbia · 378 U.S. 347 (1964)
• California Motor Transport Co. v. Trucking Unlimited · 404 U.S. 508 (1972)
• First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti · 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
• Police Dept. of Chicago v. Mosley · 408 U.S. 92 (1972)
• Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar · 421 U.S. 773 (1975)
• In Re Ruffalo · 390 U.S. 544 (1968)
• Edwards v. South Carolina · 372 U.S. 229 (1963)
• Wieman v. Updegraff · 344 U.S. 183 (1952)
• De Jonge v. Oregon · 299 U.S. 353 (1937)
• Thompson v. City of Louisville · 362 U.S. 199 (1960)
• Bates v. City of Little Rock · 361 U.S. 516 (1960)
• Healy v. James · 408 U.S. 169 (1972)
• Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations · 413 U.S. 376 (1973)

Cited by

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

• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• Gulf Oil Co. v. Bernard · 452 U.S. 89 (1981)
• Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio · 471 U.S. 626 (1985)
• Walters v. National Assn. of Radiation Survivors · 473 U.S. 305 (1985)
• Minnesota State Board for Community Colleges v. Knight · 465 U.S. 271 (1984)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 557 (1980)
• Members of the City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent · 466 U.S. 789 (1984)
• Edenfield v. Fane · 507 U.S. 761 (1993)
• Gentile v. State Bar of Nev. · 501 U.S. 1030 (1991)
• Florida Bar v. Went for It, Inc. · 515 U.S. 618 (1995)
• Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri · 564 U.S. 379 (2011)
• National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra · 585 U.S. 755 (2018)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1978). 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).