Middlesex County Ethics Committee v. Garden State Bar Association
457 U.S. 423 · Decided June 21, 1982 · 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
Middlesex County Ethics Committee v. Garden State Bar Association was decided on June 21, 1982 unanimously (9–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Comity, First Amendment” in the Judicial Power area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 457 U.S. 423 · 102 S. Ct. 2515 · 73 L. Ed. 2d 116 · 1982 U.S. LEXIS 2638
- Docket number
- 81-460
- Decided
- June 21, 1982
- Argued
- March 31, 1982
- Court era
- Burger 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
- Warren E. Burger
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Comity, First Amendment
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Legal provision
- Abstention doctrine
- Type of law
- Other
- 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 | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority |
Full case caption
Middlesex County Ethics Committee v. Garden State Bar Association et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 1981-128, docket 1981-128-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Comity, First Amendment”
- Babbitt v. United Farm Workers National Union
- Ohio Civil Rights Commission v. Dayton Christian Schools, Inc.
- Allee v. Medrano
- Younger v. Harris
- Samuels v. Mackell
- Boyle v. Landry
Cases on the same legal provision: Abstention doctrine
- Moore v. Sims et Ux.
- Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco Inc.
- Trainor v. Hernandez et Ux.
- Juidice v. Vail
- Bellotti v. Baird
- Hicks v. Miranda
Same Term, same area (Judicial Power)
- Leeke v. Timmerman
- Fair Assessment in Real Estate Association, Inc. v. McNary
- Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno
- Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc.
- Princeton University v. Schmid
- Tully v. Mobil Oil Corp.
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