Roaden v. Kentucky
413 U.S. 496 · Decided June 25, 1973 · 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
Roaden v. Kentucky was decided on June 25, 1973 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 “Obscenity, state” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 413 U.S. 496 · 93 S. Ct. 2796 · 37 L. Ed. 2d 757 · 1973 U.S. LEXIS 31
- Docket number
- 71-1134
- Decided
- June 25, 1973
- Argued
- November 14, 1972
- 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)
- Obscenity, state
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- Fourth Amendment
- Type of law
- Constitutional amendment
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Thurgood Marshall | Special concurrence | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority | |
| Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority |
Full case caption
Roaden v. Kentucky
SCDB identifiers: case 1972-174, docket 1972-174-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Obscenity, state”
- Heller v. New York
- Alexander v. Virginia
- Miller v. CaliforniaAltered precedent
- Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton
- Kaplan v. California
- California v. Larue
Cases on the same legal provision: Fourth Amendment
- Almeida-Sanchez v. United States
- Cady v. Dombrowski
- Schneckloth v. Bustamonte
- Cupp v. Murphy
- Brown v. United States
- United States v. Dionisio
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- California v. Larue
- Papish v. Board of Curators of the University of Missouri
- Lemon v. Kurtzman
- Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Democratic National Committee
- Miller v. CaliforniaAltered precedent
- Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton
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