Home > Great American Court Cases > New York v. Sanger

Legal Citation: 118 N.E. 637 (1918)

Appellant
Margaret H. Sanger

Appellee
State of New York

Appellant's Claim
That the Comstock Act of 1873 violated both the federal and state Constitutions; therefore Sanger was not guilty of a criminal act when she opened the first birth control clinic.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant
Jonah J. Goldstein

Chief Lawyer for Appellee
Harry E. Lewis

Justices for the Court
William S. Andrews, Benjamin N. Cardozo, Emory A. Chase, Frederick Collin, Frederick E. Crane (writing for the court), William H. Cuddeback, Frank H. Hiscock, John W. Hogan, Cuthbert W. Pound

Place
New York, New York

Date of Decision
8 January 1918

Decision
The lower court's guilty decision was affirmed.

Significance
This decision allowed doctors to advise their...