John D. Ashcroft, Attorney General, et al. v. the Free Speech Coalition et al.

Decided April 16, 2002. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 00-795 · 535 U.S. 234 (2002) · Cited 1,129 times

Holding

The prohibitions of §§ 2256(8)(B) and 2256(8)(D) are overbroad and unconstitutional.

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 6–3.

“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.

• New York v. Ferber · 458 U.S. 747 (1982)
• Miller v. California · 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
• Ginzburg v. United States · 383 U.S. 463 (1966)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• Osborne v. Ohio · 495 U.S. 103 (1990)
• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union · 521 U.S. 844 (1997)
• United States v. X-Citement Video, Inc. · 513 U.S. 64 (1994)
• United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. · 529 U.S. 803 (2000)
• Sable Communications of California, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 492 U.S. 115 (1989)
• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 520 U.S. 180 (1997)
• Bartnicki v. Vopper · 532 U.S. 514 (2001)
• Butler v. Michigan · 352 U.S. 380 (1957)
• Kingsley International Pictures Corp. v. Regents of the University · 360 U.S. 684 (1959)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
• Parker v. Levy · 417 U.S. 733 (1974)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Crowell v. Benson · 285 U.S. 22 (1932)
• Stanley v. Georgia · 394 U.S. 557 (1969)
• Brandenburg v. Ohio · 395 U.S. 444 (1969)
• Jacobellis v. Ohio · 378 U.S. 184 (1964)
• Wooley v. Maynard · 430 U.S. 705 (1977)
• Ginsberg v. New York · 390 U.S. 629 (1968)
• Board of Trustees of State Univ. of NY v. Fox · 492 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Carey v. Population Services International · 431 U.S. 678 (1977)
• United States v. Grace · 461 U.S. 171 (1983)
• A Book Named \John Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure\" v. Attorney General of Massachusetts" · 383 U.S. 413 (1966)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation · 438 U.S. 726 (1978)
• Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Members of the New York State Crime Victims Board · 502 U.S. 105 (1991)
• Keller v. State Bar of California · 496 U.S. 1 (1990)
• Hess v. Indiana · 414 U.S. 105 (1973)

Cited by

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

• United States v. Williams · 553 U.S. 285 (2008)
• Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. · 551 U.S. 449 (2007)
• Packingham v. North Carolina · 582 U.S. 98 (2017)
• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
• United States v. American Library Assn., Inc. · 539 U.S. 194 (2003)
• United States v. Stevens · 559 U.S. 460 (2010)
• Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Assn. · 564 U.S. 786 (2011)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. · 556 U.S. 502 (2009)
• Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union · 542 U.S. 656 (2004)
• United States v. Sineneng-Smith · 590 U.S. 371 (2020)
• Counterman v. Colorado · 600 U.S. 66 (2023)
• United States v. Hansen · 599 U.S. 762 (2023)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2002). 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).