Mishkin v. New York
United States Supreme Court
383 U.S. 502 (1966)

- Written by Mary Phelan D'Isa, JD
Facts
Mishkin (defendant) was convicted of violating a New York criminal obscenity law for publishing, hiring others to prepare, and publishing with intent to sell obscene books. Mishkin appealed the conviction, arguing that because the books did not appeal to a prurient interest of the average person in sex and did not stimulate the erotic but instead disgusted and sickened, they did not meet the prurient-appeal requirement of the Supreme Court’s definition of obscenity.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Brennan, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 966,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 47,500 briefs, keyed to 1,007 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
- AI-generated podcast version of every brief — listen on the go, between classes, or whenever reading isn’t an option. New
Understand your casebook readings in seconds
Use our case briefs to comprehend your casebook readings faster, supplement your notes and outlines, and outshine your peers in class.
Get instant access to over 47,500+ expert-written case briefs in a searchable database keyed to 1,007 law school casebooks.

