Fort Wayne Books, Inc. v. Indiana
489 U.S. 46 · Decided February 21, 1989 · 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
Fort Wayne Books, Inc. v. Indiana was decided on February 21, 1989 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Byron R. White wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Obscenity, state” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 489 U.S. 46 · 109 S. Ct. 916 · 103 L. Ed. 2d 34 · 1989 U.S. LEXIS 648
- Docket number
- 87-470
- Decided
- February 21, 1989
- Argued
- October 3, 1988
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 9–0 (unanimous)
- Majority opinion
- Byron R. White
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- 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 William J. Brennan Jr. | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Majority | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority |
Full case caption
Fort Wayne Books, Inc. v. Indiana et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1988-030, docket 1988-030-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Obscenity, state”
- Massachusetts v. Oakes
- Osborne v. Ohio
- Pope v. Illinois
- City of Newport v. Iacobucci
- Michael Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc.
- New York v. P.J. Video, Inc.
Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)
- Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central CommitteeLaw held unconstitutional
- Thornburgh v. AbbottAltered precedent
- Texas v. JohnsonLaw held unconstitutional
- The Florida Star v. B. J. F.Law held unconstitutional
- Ward v. Rock Against Racism
- Board of Trustees of the State University of New York v. Fox
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Carlucci v. Doe
- Texas Monthly, Inc. v. BullockLaw held unconstitutional
- Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central CommitteeLaw held unconstitutional
- Frazee v. Illinois Department of Employment Security
- City of Dallas v. Stanglin
- Thornburgh v. AbbottAltered precedent
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