McCullen v. Coakley

E176639

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

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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 Justice Anthony M. Kennedy
linked to: Anthony M. Kennedy

Justice Antonin Scalia
linked to: Antonin Scalia

Justice Clarence Thomas
linked to: Clarence Thomas

Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
linked to: 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 Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.
linked to: John G. Roberts Jr.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy
linked to: Anthony M. Kennedy

Justice Antonin Scalia
linked to: Antonin Scalia

Justice Clarence Thomas
linked to: Clarence Thomas

Justice Elena Kagan
linked to: Elena Kagan

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
linked to: Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
linked to: Samuel A. Alito Jr.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor
linked to: Sonia Sotomayor

Justice Stephen G. Breyer
linked to: Stephen G. Breyer
jurisdiction 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 Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.
linked to: John G. Roberts Jr.
originatingCourt United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
originatingJurisdiction Commonwealth of Massachusetts
linked to: Massachusetts
petitioner Eleanor McCullen
relatedCase Hill v. Colorado
relatedTopic content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions
respondent Martha Coakley
respondentOffice 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

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Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Assembly Clause usedInCase McCullen v. Coakley
October Term 2013 hasPart McCullen v. Coakley