Lowe et al. v. Securities and Exchange Commission

Decided June 10, 1985. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 83-1911 · 472 U.S. 181 (1985) · Cited 209 times

Holding

Petitioners' publications fall within the statutory exclusion for bona fide publications, none of the petitioners is an "investment adviser" as defined in the Act, and therefore neither petitioners' unregistered status nor the SEC order against Lowe provides a justification for restraining the future publication of their newsletters.

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 8–0.

“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.

• 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)
• Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio · 471 U.S. 626 (1985)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Capital Gains Research Bureau, Inc. · 375 U.S. 180 (1963)
• Crowell v. Benson · 285 U.S. 22 (1932)
• Schneider v. State (Town of Irvington) · 308 U.S. 147 (1939)
• Schware v. Board of Bar Examiners of NM · 353 U.S. 232 (1957)
• Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar Assn. · 436 U.S. 447 (1978)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 444 U.S. 620 (1980)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Skidmore v. Swift & Co. · 323 U.S. 134 (1944)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 557 (1980)
• Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. · 425 U.S. 748 (1976)
• Branzburg v. Hayes · 408 U.S. 665 (1972)
• Trop v. Dulles · 356 U.S. 86 (1958)
• Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. · 466 U.S. 485 (1984)
• Reiter v. Sonotone Corp. · 442 U.S. 330 (1979)
• New York Times Co. v. United States · 403 U.S. 713 (1971)
• Chiarella v. United States · 445 U.S. 222 (1980)
• Oklahoma Press Publishing Co. v. Walling · 327 U.S. 186 (1946)
• Bates v. State Bar of Arizona · 433 U.S. 350 (1977)
• Tcherepnin v. Knight · 389 U.S. 332 (1967)
• Giboney v. Empire Storage & Ice Co. · 336 U.S. 490 (1949)
• Consolidated Edison Co. of New York v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 530 (1980)
• Dent v. West Virginia · 129 U.S. 114 (1889)
• Rescue Army v. Municipal Court of Los Angeles · 331 U.S. 549 (1947)

Cited by

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

• Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia · 517 U.S. 186 (1996)
• Custis v. United States · 511 U.S. 485 (1994)
• Clark v. Martinez · 543 U.S. 371 (2005)

Official text

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

Explore from here

John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). 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).