Socialist Labor Party et al. v. Gilligan, Governor of Ohio, et al.

Decided May 30, 1972. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 70-21 · 406 U.S. 583 (1972) · Cited 178 times

Holding

The record and pleadings on the one issue not mooted by the supervening legislation (an issue that received scant attention in appellants' complaint and none in the affidavits supporting the cross-motions for summary judgment) are inadequate for resolution of the constitutional questions presented, and in view of the abstract and speculative posture of the case the appeal must therefore be dismissed.

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 6–3.

“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.

• Rescue Army v. Municipal Court of Los Angeles · 331 U.S. 549 (1947)
• Cramp v. Board of Public Instruction of Orange Cty. · 368 U.S. 278 (1961)
• Williams v. Rhodes · 393 U.S. 23 (1968)
• Evers v. Dwyer · 358 U.S. 202 (1958)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• Keyishian v. Board of Regents of Univ. of State of NY · 385 U.S. 589 (1967)
• United States v. Fruehauf · 365 U.S. 146 (1961)
• Albertson v. Millard, Attorney General · 345 U.S. 242 (1953)
• Flast v. Cohen · 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
• United States v. Munsingwear, Inc. · 340 U.S. 36 (1950)
• Speiser v. Randall · 357 U.S. 513 (1958)
• Gooding v. Wilson · 405 U.S. 518 (1972)
• Golden v. Zwickler · 394 U.S. 103 (1969)
• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 559 (1965)
• Wieman v. Updegraff · 344 U.S. 183 (1952)
• Muskrat v. United States · 219 U.S. 346 (1911)
• Moore v. Ogilvie · 394 U.S. 814 (1969)
• Doremus v. Board of Ed. of Hawthorne · 342 U.S. 429 (1952)
• Lane v. Wilson · 307 U.S. 268 (1939)
• Elfbrandt v. Russell · 384 U.S. 11 (1966)
• Guinn v. United States · 238 U.S. 347 (1915)
• Baird v. State Bar of Arizona · 401 U.S. 1 (1971)
• Law Students Civil Rights Research Council, Inc. v. Wadmond · 401 U.S. 154 (1971)

Cited by

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

• Renne v. Geary · 501 U.S. 312 (1991)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Assn., Inc. · 452 U.S. 264 (1981)
• Storer v. Brown · 415 U.S. 724 (1974)
• Agins v. City of Tiburon · 447 U.S. 255 (1980)
• Keystone Bituminous Coal Assn. v. DeBenedictis · 480 U.S. 470 (1987)
• Reno v. Catholic Social Services, Inc. · 509 U.S. 43 (1993)
• Mancusi v. Stubbs · 408 U.S. 204 (1972)
• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 520 U.S. 180 (1997)
• Stanton v. Stanton · 421 U.S. 7 (1975)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1972). 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).