Massachusetts v. Oakes

491 U.S. 576 · Decided June 21, 1989 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Massachusetts v. Oakes was decided on June 21, 1989 by a vote of 6–3. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor 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

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

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Massachusetts v. Oakes

SCDB identifiers: case 1988-129, docket 1988-129-01.

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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