A Book Named 'john Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure' v. Attorney General of Massachusetts
383 U.S. 413 · Decided March 21, 1966 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
A Book Named 'john Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure' v. Attorney General of Massachusetts was decided on March 21, 1966 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Obscenity, state” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 383 U.S. 413 · 86 S. Ct. 975 · 16 L. Ed. 2d 1 · 1966 U.S. LEXIS 2906
- Docket number
- 368
- Decided
- March 21, 1966
- Argued
- December 7, 1965
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority opinion
- William J. Brennan Jr.
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Appeal
- Issue (SCDB)
- Obscenity, state
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority |
Full case caption
A Book Named 'john Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure' et al. v. Attorney General of Massachusetts
SCDB identifiers: case 1965-068, docket 1965-068-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Obscenity, state”
- Mishkin v. New York
- Redrup v. New York
- Keney v. New York
- Friedman v. New York
- Ratner v. California
- Cobert v. New York
Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- Rosenblatt v. Baer
- Ashton v. Kentucky
- Adderley v. Florida
- Bond v. Floyd
- Time, Inc. v. Hill
- Keyishian v. Board of Regents of the University of the State of New YorkAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control BoardLaw held unconstitutional
- Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham
- Solomon v. South Carolina
- Rosenblatt v. Baer
- Ginzburg v. United States
- Mishkin v. New York
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