United States et al. v. Grace et al.

Decided April 20, 1983. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 81-1863 · 461 U.S. 171 (1983) · Cited 1,050 times

Holding

Section 13k, as applied to the public sidewalks surrounding the Court building, is unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

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.

• Greer v. Spock · 424 U.S. 828 (1976)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
• Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)
• Brown v. Louisiana · 383 U.S. 131 (1966)
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District · 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Haguer v. Committee for Industrial Organization · 307 U.S. 496 (1939)
• Schneider v. State (Town of Irvington) · 308 U.S. 147 (1939)
• Lovell v. City of Griffin · 303 U.S. 444 (1938)
• Cox v. New Hampshire · 312 U.S. 569 (1941)
• Carey v. Brown · 447 U.S. 455 (1980)
• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 559 (1965)
• Adderley v. Florida · 385 U.S. 39 (1966)
• Jamison v. Texas · 318 U.S. 413 (1943)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• Singleton v. Wulff · 428 U.S. 106 (1976)
• Perry Education Ass'n v. Perry Local Educators' Ass'n · 460 U.S. 37 (1983)
• New York v. Ferber · 458 U.S. 747 (1982)
• Dombrowski v. Pfister · 380 U.S. 479 (1965)
• Crowell v. Benson · 285 U.S. 22 (1932)
• Keyishian v. Board of Regents of Univ. of State of NY · 385 U.S. 589 (1967)
• Cox v. Louisiana · 379 U.S. 536 (1965)
• Gooding v. Wilson · 405 U.S. 518 (1972)
• Widmar v. Vincent · 454 U.S. 263 (1981)
• Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. · 452 U.S. 640 (1981)
• Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville · 422 U.S. 205 (1975)
• Kovacs v. Cooper · 336 U.S. 77 (1949)
• Edwards v. South Carolina · 372 U.S. 229 (1963)
• Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 444 U.S. 620 (1980)
• Hudgens v. National Labor Relations Board · 424 U.S. 507 (1976)

Cited by

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

• United States v. Kokinda · 497 U.S. 720 (1990)
• United States v. National Treasury Employees Union · 513 U.S. 454 (1995)
• United States v. Davis · 588 U.S. 445 (2019)
• Hill v. Colorado · 530 U.S. 703 (2000)
• Boos v. Barry · 485 U.S. 312 (1988)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• Members of the City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent · 466 U.S. 789 (1984)
• Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. · 473 U.S. 788 (1985)
• Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence · 468 U.S. 288 (1984)
• International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. v. Lee · 505 U.S. 672 (1992)
• Wood v. Moss · 572 U.S. 744 (2014)
• Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New Eng. · 546 U.S. 320 (2006)
• Ward v. Rock Against Racism · 491 U.S. 781 (1989)
• McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission · 514 U.S. 334 (1995)
• Brockett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc. · 472 U.S. 491 (1985)
• Burson v. Freeman · 504 U.S. 191 (1992)
• United States v. Albertini · 472 U.S. 675 (1985)
• Regan v. Time, Inc. · 468 U.S. 641 (1984)
• United States v. Booker · 543 U.S. 220 (2005)
• DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services · 489 U.S. 189 (1989)
• Texas v. Johnson · 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
• City of Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. · 486 U.S. 750 (1988)
• Frisby v. Schultz · 487 U.S. 474 (1988)
• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union · 521 U.S. 844 (1997)
• Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition · 535 U.S. 234 (2002)
• Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement · 505 U.S. 123 (1992)
• Snyder v. Phelps · 562 U.S. 443 (2011)
• Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc. · 501 U.S. 560 (1991)
• Madsen v. Women's Health Center, Inc. · 512 U.S. 753 (1994)
• Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC · 528 U.S. 377 (2000)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1983). 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).