Butler v. Michigan
| Butler v. Michigan | |
|---|---|
| Argued October 16, 1956 Decided February 25, 1957 | |
| Full case name | Butler v. Michigan |
| Citations | 352 U.S. 380 (more) |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Defendant convicted of violating Michigan Penal Code. Appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court, which upheld the conviction. |
| Holding | |
| Laws that ban the sale to adults of reading material due to its perceived inappropriateness for children violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Michigan Supreme Court reversed. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Frankfurter, joined by Warren, Douglas, Clark, Harlan, Burton, Reed, Brennan |
| Concurrence | Black |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. XIV | |
Butler v. Michigan, 352 U.S. 380 (1957), was a U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the court held that laws criminalizing the sale of non-obscene literature to adults based on its perceived unsuitability for children were unconstitutional on the grounds of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Felix Frankfurter's majority opinion in the case has often been cited for its use of the "burn the house to roast the pig" quip. Though overshadowed by other landmark free speech decisions from the Warren Court, Butler v. Michigan has been described by contemporary scholars as a "key free speech victory" and the decision is considered to mark the end of harm to youth as a rationale for official censorship and regulation of printed matter.