Stanley v. Georgia

Stanley v. Georgia was a 1969 Supreme Court decision which helped to establish a personal "right to privacy" in US law.

The Georgia home of Robert Eli Stanley, a suspected and previously-convicted bookmaker, was searched by police with a federal warrant to seize betting paraphernalia. They found none, but instead seized three reels of pornographic material from a desk drawer in an upstairs bedroom, and later charged Mr. Stanley with the possession of obscene materials, a crime under Georgia law. This conviction was upheld by the Georgia Supreme Court.

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the earlier decision and invalidated all state laws that forbid the private possession of materials judged obscene, on the grounds of the 1st and 14th Amendments. Justices Stewart, Brennan, and White, contributed a joint concurring opinion. Justice Hugo Black also concurred, with a separate opinion.

External link

Syllabus, containing the texts of the above opinions.