Ocala Star-Banner Co. et al. v. Damron
Decided February 24, 1971. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 118 · 401 U.S. 295 (1971) · Cited 139 times
Holding
A charge of criminal conduct against a public official or a candidate for public office, no matter how remote in time or place, is always 'relevant to his fitness for office' for purposes of applying the New York Times rule of knowing falsehood or reckless disregard of the truth.
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 7–2.
Majority · 6
- Potter Stewart · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- John Marshall Harlan
- Thurgood Marshall
- Warren Earl Burger
- William Joseph Brennan Jr.
Concurring · 1
- Byron Raymond White · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 2
- Hugo Lafayette Black · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Orville Douglas
“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 Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
- Garrison v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 64 (1964)
- St. Amant v. Thompson · 390 U.S. 727 (1968)
- Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts · 388 U.S. 130 (1967)
- Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Assn., Inc. v. Bresler · 398 U.S. 6 (1970)
- Raley v. Ohio · 360 U.S. 423 (1959)
- Henry v. Collins · 380 U.S. 356 (1965)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Herbert v. Lando · 441 U.S. 153 (1979)
- Harte-Hanks Communications, Inc. v. Connaughton · 491 U.S. 657 (1989)
- Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, Inc. · 403 U.S. 29 (1971)
- Brown v. Hartlage · 456 U.S. 45 (1982)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1971). 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).