Ward v. Illinois
Decided June 9, 1977. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 76-415 · 431 U.S. 767 (1977) · Cited 114 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 5–4.
Majority · 5
- Byron Raymond White · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr.
- Warren Earl Burger
- William Hubbs Rehnquist
Dissenting · 4
- John Paul Stevens · filed a dissenting opinion
- Potter Stewart
- Thurgood Marshall
- William Joseph Brennan Jr. · 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.
- Miller v. California · 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
- Hamling v. United States · 418 U.S. 87 (1974)
- A Book Named \John Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure\" v. Attorney General of Massachusetts" · 383 U.S. 413 (1966)
- Roth v. United States · 354 U.S. 476 (1957)
- Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
- United States v. 12 200-Ft. Reels of Super 8MM. Film · 413 U.S. 123 (1973)
- Mishkin v. New York · 383 U.S. 502 (1966)
- Jenkins v. Georgia · 418 U.S. 153 (1974)
- Kois v. Wisconsin · 408 U.S. 229 (1972)
- New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
- Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
- Marks v. United States · 430 U.S. 188 (1977)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- New York v. Ferber · 458 U.S. 747 (1982)
- Minnesota v. Clover Leaf Creamery Co. · 449 U.S. 456 (1981)
- Brockett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc. · 472 U.S. 491 (1985)
- Fort Wayne Books, Inc. v. Indiana · 489 U.S. 46 (1989)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Byron Raymond White’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
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).