Virginia State Board of Pharmacy et al. v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc., et al.

Decided May 24, 1976. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 74-895 · 425 U.S. 748 (1976) · Cited 2,355 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–1.

“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.

• Bigelow v. Virginia · 421 U.S. 809 (1975)
• Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations · 413 U.S. 376 (1973)
• Valentine v. Chrestensen · 316 U.S. 52 (1942)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Gissel Packing Co. · 395 U.S. 575 (1969)
• Williamson v. Lee Optical of Oklahoma, Inc. · 348 U.S. 483 (1955)
• Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. · 418 U.S. 323 (1974)
• Breard v. Alexandria · 341 U.S. 622 (1951)
• Lamont v. Postmaster General · 381 U.S. 301 (1965)
• Head v. New Mexico Board of Examiners in Optometry · 374 U.S. 424 (1963)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire · 315 U.S. 568 (1942)
• Kleindienst v. Mandel · 408 U.S. 753 (1972)
• Semler v. Oregon State Board of Dental Examiners · 294 U.S. 608 (1935)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Virginia Electric & Power Co. · 314 U.S. 469 (1941)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
• Procunier v. Martinez · 416 U.S. 396 (1974)
• Thomas v. Collins · 323 U.S. 516 (1945)
• Murdock v. Pennsylvania · 319 U.S. 105 (1943)
• Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville · 422 U.S. 205 (1975)
• Martin v. City of Struthers · 319 U.S. 141 (1943)
• Lehman v. City of Shaker Heights · 418 U.S. 298 (1974)
• Jamison v. Texas · 318 U.S. 413 (1943)
• Cammarano v. United States · 358 U.S. 498 (1959)
• Roe v. Wade · 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
• Griswold v. Connecticut · 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• Roth v. United States · 354 U.S. 476 (1957)

Cited by

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

• Bates v. State Bar of Arizona · 433 U.S. 350 (1977)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 557 (1980)
• 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island · 517 U.S. 484 (1996)
• Friedman v. Rogers · 440 U.S. 1 (1979)
• Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliott, Inc. · 521 U.S. 457 (1997)
• Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego · 453 U.S. 490 (1981)
• City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network, Inc. · 507 U.S. 410 (1993)
• Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. · 472 U.S. 749 (1985)
• Rubin v. Coors Brewing Co. · 514 U.S. 476 (1995)
• Edenfield v. Fane · 507 U.S. 761 (1993)
• Posadas De Puerto Rico Associates v. Tourism Co. of Puerto Rico · 478 U.S. 328 (1986)
• Carey v. Population Services International · 431 U.S. 678 (1977)
• Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly · 533 U.S. 525 (2001)
• Linmark Associates, Inc. v. Township of Willingboro · 431 U.S. 85 (1977)
• Thompson v. Western States Medical Center · 535 U.S. 357 (2002)
• Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar Assn. · 436 U.S. 447 (1978)
• Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp. · 463 U.S. 60 (1983)
• Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio · 471 U.S. 626 (1985)
• Renne v. Geary · 501 U.S. 312 (1991)
• United States v. Alvarez · 567 U.S. 709 (2012)
• Shapero v. Kentucky Bar Assn. · 486 U.S. 466 (1988)
• First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti · 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
• Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. · 452 U.S. 640 (1981)
• Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 444 U.S. 620 (1980)
• Consolidated Edison Co. of New York v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 530 (1980)
• Florida Bar v. Went for It, Inc. · 515 U.S. 618 (1995)
• Meese v. Keene · 481 U.S. 465 (1987)
• Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. · 466 U.S. 485 (1984)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• United States v. Williams · 553 U.S. 285 (2008)

Official text

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

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).