Bates v. State Bar of Arizona

Bates v. State Bar of Arizona
Argued January 18, 1977
Decided June 27, 1977
Full case nameJohn R. Bates and Van O'Steen v. State Bar of Arizona
Citations433 U.S. 350 (more)
97 S. Ct. 2691; 53 L. Ed. 2d 810; 1977 U.S. LEXIS 23
Case history
PriorAttorney discipline imposed, In re Bates, 555 P.2d 640 (Ariz. 1976); probable jurisdiction noted, Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 429 U.S. 813 (1976).
SubsequentRehearing denied, 434 U.S. 881 (1977).
Holding
The First Amendment allows lawyers to advertise in a manner that is not misleading to members of the general public.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart
Byron White · Thurgood Marshall
Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr.
William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens
Case opinions
MajorityBlackmun, joined by unanimous (Parts I, II); Brennan, White, Marshall, Stevens (Parts III, IV)
Concur/dissentBurger
Concur/dissentPowell, joined by Stewart
DissentRehnquist (in part)
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amends. I, XIV

Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld the right of lawyers to advertise their services.[1] In holding that lawyer advertising was commercial speech entitled to protection under the First Amendment (incorporated against the States through the Fourteenth Amendment), the Court upset the tradition against advertising by lawyers, rejecting it as an antiquated rule of etiquette.

The Court emphasized the benefits of the information that flows to consumers through advertising, positing that lawyer advertising would make legal services more accessible to the general public and improve the overall administration of justice. The Court had previously held in Virginia State Pharmacy Board v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council that advertising by pharmacists regarding the price of prescription drugs was commercial speech protected by the First Amendment.

  1. ^ Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977).