Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar Assn.

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

Docket 76-1650 · 436 U.S. 447 (1978) · Cited 1,074 times

Holding

The Bar, acting with state authorization, constitutionally may discipline a lawyer for soliciting clients in person, for pecuniary gain, under circumstances likely to pose dangers that the State has a right to prevent and thus the application of the Disciplinary Rules in question to appellant does not offend the Constitution.

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.

• Bates v. State Bar of Arizona · 433 U.S. 350 (1977)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. · 425 U.S. 748 (1976)
• Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Virginia Ex Rel. Virginia State Bar · 377 U.S. 1 (1964)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• Cohen v. California · 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
• United Mine Workers v. Illinois State Bar Ass'n · 389 U.S. 217 (1967)
• United Transportation Union v. State Bar of Michigan · 401 U.S. 576 (1971)
• Cohen v. Hurley · 366 U.S. 117 (1961)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• Napue v. Illinois · 360 U.S. 264 (1959)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Williamson v. Lee Optical of Oklahoma, Inc. · 348 U.S. 483 (1955)
• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire · 315 U.S. 568 (1942)
• Dombrowski v. Pfister · 380 U.S. 479 (1965)
• Mills v. Electric Auto-Lite Co. · 396 U.S. 375 (1970)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Gissel Packing Co. · 395 U.S. 575 (1969)
• Gooding v. Wilson · 405 U.S. 518 (1972)
• Brandenburg v. Ohio · 395 U.S. 444 (1969)
• Jacobellis v. Ohio · 378 U.S. 184 (1964)
• Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton · 413 U.S. 49 (1973)
• Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville · 422 U.S. 205 (1975)
• Schenck v. United States · 249 U.S. 47 (1919)
• Whitney v. California · 274 U.S. 357 (1927)
• Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar · 421 U.S. 773 (1975)
• Edwards v. South Carolina · 372 U.S. 229 (1963)
• National Society of Professional Engineers v. United States · 435 U.S. 679 (1978)
• Giboney v. Empire Storage & Ice Co. · 336 U.S. 490 (1949)
• Bigelow v. Virginia · 421 U.S. 809 (1975)
• 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.

• Edenfield v. Fane · 507 U.S. 761 (1993)
• Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio · 471 U.S. 626 (1985)
• Shapero v. Kentucky Bar Assn. · 486 U.S. 466 (1988)
• City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network, Inc. · 507 U.S. 410 (1993)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 557 (1980)
• Maracich v. Spears · 570 U.S. 48 (2013)
• Florida Bar v. Went for It, Inc. · 515 U.S. 618 (1995)
• Board of Trustees of State Univ. of NY v. Fox · 492 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. · 472 U.S. 749 (1985)
• Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp. · 463 U.S. 60 (1983)
• Friedman v. Rogers · 440 U.S. 1 (1979)
• National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra · 585 U.S. 755 (2018)
• United States v. Edge Broadcasting Co. · 509 U.S. 418 (1993)
• Peel v. Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission of Illinois · 496 U.S. 91 (1990)
• Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego · 453 U.S. 490 (1981)
• Rubin v. Coors Brewing Co. · 514 U.S. 476 (1995)
• Lowe v. Securities & Exchange Commission · 472 U.S. 181 (1985)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island · 517 U.S. 484 (1996)
• Gentile v. State Bar of Nev. · 501 U.S. 1030 (1991)
• Posadas De Puerto Rico Associates v. Tourism Co. of Puerto Rico · 478 U.S. 328 (1986)
• In Re RMJ · 455 U.S. 191 (1982)
• Gunn v. Minton · 568 U.S. 251 (2013)
• Members of the City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent · 466 U.S. 789 (1984)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• United States v. Stevens · 559 U.S. 460 (2010)
• Secretary of State of Md. v. Joseph H. Munson Co. · 467 U.S. 947 (1984)
• Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 444 U.S. 620 (1980)
• Consolidated Edison Co. of New York v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 530 (1980)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation · 438 U.S. 726 (1978)

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).