Lorillard Tobacco Company, et al. v. Thomas F. Reilly, Attorney General of Massachusetts, et al.

Decided June 28, 2001. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 00-596 · 533 U.S. 525 (2001) · Cited 549 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 5–4.

“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.

• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. · 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
• 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island · 517 U.S. 484 (1996)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 557 (1980)
• Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Assn., Inc. v. United States · 527 U.S. 173 (1999)
• Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. · 425 U.S. 748 (1976)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr · 518 U.S. 470 (1996)
• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union · 521 U.S. 844 (1997)
• Butler v. Michigan · 352 U.S. 380 (1957)
• United States v. Lopez · 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
• City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc. · 475 U.S. 41 (1986)
• United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. · 529 U.S. 803 (2000)
• Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp. · 463 U.S. 60 (1983)
• Brandenburg v. Ohio · 395 U.S. 444 (1969)
• Board of Trustees of State Univ. of NY v. Fox · 492 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation · 438 U.S. 726 (1978)
• California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement v. Dillingham Construction, N. A. · 519 U.S. 316 (1997)
• Edenfield v. Fane · 507 U.S. 761 (1993)
• Rubin v. Coors Brewing Co. · 514 U.S. 476 (1995)
• Members of the City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent · 466 U.S. 789 (1984)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• Texas v. Johnson · 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
• Carey v. Population Services International · 431 U.S. 678 (1977)
• City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network, Inc. · 507 U.S. 410 (1993)
• Valentine v. Chrestensen · 316 U.S. 52 (1942)
• United States v. Edge Broadcasting Co. · 509 U.S. 418 (1993)
• Ward v. Rock Against Racism · 491 U.S. 781 (1989)
• Roth v. United States · 354 U.S. 476 (1957)
• Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp. · 331 U.S. 218 (1947)
• Food & Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. · 529 U.S. 120 (2000)

Cited by

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

• Altria Group, Inc. v. Good · 555 U.S. 70 (2008)
• District of Columbia v. Heller · 554 U.S. 570 (2008)
• Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport Ass'n · 552 U.S. 364 (2008)
• Dan's City Used Cars, Inc. v. Pelkey · 569 U.S. 251 (2013)
• Matal v. Tam · 582 U.S. 218 (2017)
• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
• Thompson v. Western States Medical Center · 535 U.S. 357 (2002)
• City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Austin, LLC · 596 U.S. 61 (2022)
• Nixon v. Missouri Municipal League · 541 U.S. 125 (2004)
• Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton · 606 U.S. 461 (2025)

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).