McCullen v. Coakley
E176639
First Amendment case
United States Supreme Court case
abortion-related legal case
freedom of speech case
McCullen v. Coakley is a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court case that struck down Massachusetts’ abortion-clinic buffer zone law as violating the First Amendment’s free speech protections.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| McCullen v. Coakley canonical | 2 |
Statements (51)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
First Amendment case
ⓘ
United States Supreme Court case ⓘ abortion-related legal case ⓘ freedom of speech case ⓘ |
| citation |
134 S. Ct. 2518
ⓘ
189 L. Ed. 2d 502 ⓘ 573 U.S. 464 ⓘ |
| concurrenceBy |
Anthony M. Kennedy
ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy
Antonin Scalia ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Antonin Scalia
Clarence Thomas ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Clarence Thomas
Samuel A. Alito Jr. ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
|
| constitutionalProvisionInterpreted | First Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ |
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 2014-06-26 ⓘ |
| decisionType | unanimous judgment ⓘ |
| docketNumber | 12-1168 ⓘ |
| governmentInterestAsserted |
orderly movement on public sidewalks and streets
ⓘ
public safety ⓘ unimpeded access to reproductive health care facilities ⓘ |
| holding |
Massachusetts’ 35-foot abortion-clinic buffer zone law violates the First Amendment
ⓘ
The law burdens substantially more speech than necessary to achieve the Commonwealth’s asserted interests ⓘ The statute is not narrowly tailored to serve significant governmental interests in public safety and patient access ⓘ |
| issue | whether fixed buffer zones around abortion clinics violate free speech rights on public sidewalks ⓘ |
| joinedMajority |
John G. Roberts Jr.
ⓘ
surface form:
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.
Anthony M. Kennedy ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy
Antonin Scalia ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Antonin Scalia
Clarence Thomas ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Clarence Thomas
Elena Kagan ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Elena Kagan
Ruth Bader Ginsburg ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Samuel A. Alito Jr. ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
Sonia Sotomayor ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Stephen G. Breyer ⓘ
surface form:
Justice Stephen G. Breyer
|
| jurisdiction |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| lawChallenged | Massachusetts Reproductive Health Care Facilities Act (as amended in 2007) ⓘ |
| lawFeatureChallenged | 35-foot fixed buffer zones around entrances, exits, and driveways of reproductive health care facilities ⓘ |
| lowerCourtDecision | affirmed constitutionality of Massachusetts buffer zone law ⓘ |
| opinionOfTheCourtBy |
John G. Roberts Jr.
ⓘ
surface form:
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.
|
| originatingCourt | United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ⓘ |
| originatingJurisdiction |
Massachusetts
ⓘ
surface form:
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
|
| petitioner | Eleanor McCullen ⓘ |
| relatedCase | Hill v. Colorado ⓘ |
| relatedTopic | content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions ⓘ |
| respondent | Martha Coakley ⓘ |
| respondentOffice |
Massachusetts Attorney General
ⓘ
surface form:
Attorney General of Massachusetts
|
| result | Massachusetts buffer zone statute struck down ⓘ |
| speechLocation | public sidewalks outside abortion clinics ⓘ |
| speechTypeInvolved | sidewalk counseling ⓘ |
| standardApplied | narrow tailoring requirement for time, place, and manner restrictions ⓘ |
| subsequentImpact | limited states’ ability to use large fixed buffer zones around abortion clinics ⓘ |
| term | October Term 2013 ⓘ |
| vote | 9-0 on invalidating the law ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.