Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations et al.

Decided June 21, 1973. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 72-419 · 413 U.S. 376 (1973) · Cited 707 times

Holding

The Pittsburgh ordinance as construed to forbid newspapers to carry sex-designated advertising columns for nonexempt job opportunities does not violate petitioner's First Amendment rights.

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 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.

• Valentine v. Chrestensen · 316 U.S. 52 (1942)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• Near v. Minnesota Ex Rel. Olson · 283 U.S. 697 (1931)
• New York Times Co. v. United States · 403 U.S. 713 (1971)
• Associated Press v. United States · 326 U.S. 1 (1945)
• Beauharnais v. Illinois · 343 U.S. 250 (1952)
• Branzburg v. Hayes · 408 U.S. 665 (1972)
• Murdock v. Pennsylvania · 319 U.S. 105 (1943)
• Oklahoma Press Publishing Co. v. Walling · 327 U.S. 186 (1946)
• Grosjean v. American Press Co. · 297 U.S. 233 (1936)
• Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe · 402 U.S. 415 (1971)
• Lorain Journal Co. v. United States · 342 U.S. 143 (1951)
• Associated Press v. National Labor Relations Board · 301 U.S. 103 (1937)
• Head v. New Mexico Board of Examiners in Optometry · 374 U.S. 424 (1963)
• Mabee v. White Plains Publishing Co. · 327 U.S. 178 (1946)
• Citizen Publishing Co. v. United States · 394 U.S. 131 (1969)
• Boyd v. United States · 116 U.S. 616 (1886)
• Olmstead v. United States · 277 U.S. 438 (1928)
• Lovell v. City of Griffin · 303 U.S. 444 (1938)
• Smith v. California · 361 U.S. 147 (1959)
• Schenck v. United States · 249 U.S. 47 (1919)
• Giboney v. Empire Storage & Ice Co. · 336 U.S. 490 (1949)
• Martin v. City of Struthers · 319 U.S. 141 (1943)
• National Broadcasting Co. v. United States · 319 U.S. 190 (1943)
• Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Democratic National Committee · 412 U.S. 94 (1973)
• Ginzburg v. United States · 383 U.S. 463 (1966)
• Cammarano v. United States · 358 U.S. 498 (1959)
• Jones v. Opelika · 319 U.S. 103 (1943)

Cited by

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

• Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. · 425 U.S. 748 (1976)
• Bigelow v. Virginia · 421 U.S. 809 (1975)
• United States v. Williams · 553 U.S. 285 (2008)
• City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network, Inc. · 507 U.S. 410 (1993)
• Lehman v. City of Shaker Heights · 418 U.S. 298 (1974)
• Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo · 418 U.S. 241 (1974)
• Moody v. NetChoice, LLC · 603 U.S. 707 (2024)
• New York v. Ferber · 458 U.S. 747 (1982)
• Nebraska Press Assn. v. Stuart · 427 U.S. 539 (1976)
• Carey v. Population Services International · 431 U.S. 678 (1977)
• Bates v. State Bar of Arizona · 433 U.S. 350 (1977)
• Herbert v. Lando · 441 U.S. 153 (1979)
• Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp. · 463 U.S. 60 (1983)
• Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. · 472 U.S. 749 (1985)
• Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio · 471 U.S. 626 (1985)
• 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island · 517 U.S. 484 (1996)
• Alexander v. United States · 509 U.S. 544 (1993)
• Posadas De Puerto Rico Associates v. Tourism Co. of Puerto Rico · 478 U.S. 328 (1986)
• Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. · 455 U.S. 489 (1982)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 557 (1980)
• First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti · 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
• City of Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. · 486 U.S. 750 (1988)
• Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar Assn. · 436 U.S. 447 (1978)
• Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, Inc. · 515 U.S. 557 (1995)
• Edenfield v. Fane · 507 U.S. 761 (1993)
• Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly · 533 U.S. 525 (2001)
• Minneapolis Star & Tribune Co. v. Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue · 460 U.S. 575 (1983)
• Friedman v. Rogers · 440 U.S. 1 (1979)
• Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Utilities Commission · 475 U.S. 1 (1986)
• In Re Primus · 436 U.S. 412 (1978)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1973). 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).