United States v. Orito
Decided June 21, 1973. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 70-69 · 413 U.S. 139 (1973) · Cited 281 times
Holding
Congress has the power to prevent obscene material, which is not protected by the First Amendment, from entering the stream of commerce.
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.
Majority · 5
- Warren Earl Burger · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Dissenting · 4
- Potter Stewart
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr. · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Orville Douglas · filed a dissenting opinion
“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.
- Stanley v. Georgia · 394 U.S. 557 (1969)
- United States v. Thirty-Seven (37) Photographs · 402 U.S. 363 (1971)
- United States v. Reidel · 402 U.S. 351 (1971)
- Griswold v. Connecticut · 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
- Brooks v. United States · 267 U.S. 432 (1925)
- Roth v. United States · 354 U.S. 476 (1957)
- Prince v. Massachusetts · 321 U.S. 158 (1944)
- Loving v. Virginia · 388 U.S. 1 (1967)
- Skinner v. Oklahoma Ex Rel. Williamson · 316 U.S. 535 (1942)
- Eisenstadt v. Baird · 405 U.S. 438 (1972)
- Poe v. Ullman · 367 U.S. 497 (1961)
- United States v. Darby · 312 U.S. 100 (1941)
- Redrup v. New York · 386 U.S. 767 (1967)
- United States v. Orito · 413 U.S. 139 (1973)
- Sonzinsky v. United States · 300 U.S. 506 (1937)
- North American Co. v. Securities & Exchange Commission · 327 U.S. 686 (1946)
- United States v. Alpers · 338 U.S. 680 (1950)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Warren Earl Burger’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).