44 Liquormart, Inc. and Peoples Super Liquor Stores, Inc. v. Rhode Island and Rhode Island Liquor Stores Association

517 U.S. 484 · Decided May 13, 1996 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

44 Liquormart, Inc. and Peoples Super Liquor Stores, Inc. v. Rhode Island and Rhode Island Liquor Stores Association was decided on May 13, 1996 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Commercial speech, excluding attorneys” in the First Amendment area. SCDB codes this decision as formally altering one or more of the Court's own precedents. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

44 Liquormart, Inc. and Peoples Super Liquor Stores, Inc. v. Rhode Island and Rhode Island Liquor Stores Association

SCDB identifiers: case 1995-049, docket 1995-049-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)

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Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

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Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error