Federal Trade Commission v. Grolier Inc.
462 U.S. 19 · Decided June 6, 1983 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Federal Trade Commission v. Grolier Inc. was decided on June 6, 1983 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Freedom of Information Act and related laws” in the Privacy area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 462 U.S. 19 · 103 S. Ct. 2209 · 76 L. Ed. 2d 387 · 1983 U.S. LEXIS 45
- Docket number
- 82-372
- Decided
- June 6, 1983
- Argued
- March 29, 1983
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Freedom of Information Act and related laws
- Issue area
- Privacy
- Legal provision
- Freedom of Information, Sunshine, or Privacy Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Federal Trade Commission et al. v. Grolier Inc.
SCDB identifiers: case 1982-095, docket 1982-095-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Freedom of Information Act and related laws”
- United States v. Weber Aircraft Corp.
- Federal Communications Commission v. ITT World Communications, Inc.
- Federal Bureau of Investigation v. Abramson
- United States Department of State v. Washington Post Co.
- Baldrige v. Shapiro
- Weinberger v. Catholic Action of Hawaii/peace Education Project
Cases on the same legal provision: Freedom of Information, Sunshine, or Privacy Act
Same Term, same area (Privacy)
- City of Akron v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
- Planned Parenthood Association of Kansas City v. AshcroftLaw held unconstitutional
- Simopoulos v. Virginia
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