United States Department of Justice et al. v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press et al.

Decided March 22, 1989. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 87-1379 · 489 U.S. 749 (1989) · Cited 2,142 times

Holding

Disclosure of the contents of an FBI rap sheet to a third party "could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy" within the meaning of Exemption 7(C) and therefore is prohibited by that Exemption.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Department of the Air Force v. Rose · 425 U.S. 352 (1976)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Robbins Tire & Rubber Co. · 437 U.S. 214 (1978)
• Whalen v. Roe · 429 U.S. 589 (1977)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. · 421 U.S. 132 (1975)
• Federal Trade Commission v. Grolier Inc. · 462 U.S. 19 (1983)
• Environmental Protection Agency v. Mink · 410 U.S. 73 (1973)
• Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn · 420 U.S. 469 (1975)
• Federal Bureau of Investigation v. Abramson · 456 U.S. 615 (1982)
• United States Department of Justice v. Julian · 486 U.S. 1 (1988)
• Paul v. Davis · 424 U.S. 693 (1976)
• United States Department of State v. Washington Post Co. · 456 U.S. 595 (1982)
• Central Intelligence Agency v. Sims · 471 U.S. 159 (1985)

Cited by

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

• National Archives & Records Administration v. Favish · 541 U.S. 157 (2004)
• United States Department of Defense v. Federal Labor Relations Authority · 510 U.S. 487 (1994)
• United States Department of State v. Ray · 502 U.S. 164 (1991)
• John Doe Agency v. John Doe Corp. · 493 U.S. 146 (1989)
• United States Department of Justice v. Landano · 508 U.S. 165 (1993)
• Florida Star v. B. J. F. · 491 U.S. 524 (1989)
• United States Department of Justice v. Tax Analysts · 492 U.S. 136 (1989)
• Public Citizen v. United States Department of Justice · 491 U.S. 440 (1989)
• Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of County of Burlington · 566 U.S. 318 (2012)
• United States v. Zubaydah · 595 U.S. 195 (2022)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1989). 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).