Zwickler v. Koota

Zwickler v. Koota
Decided December 5, 1967
Full case nameZwickler v. Koota
Citations389 U.S. 241 (more)
Holding
A federal court cannot use the abstention doctrine to avoid a constitutional issue merely because it determines that the plaintiff is unlikely to receive the relief they requested.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Earl Warren
Associate Justices
Hugo Black · William O. Douglas
John M. Harlan II · William J. Brennan Jr.
Potter Stewart · Byron White
Abe Fortas · Thurgood Marshall
Case opinions
MajorityBrennan
ConcurrenceHarlan

Zwickler v. Koota, 389 U.S. 241 (1967), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that a federal court cannot use the abstention doctrine to avoid a constitutional issue merely because it determines that the plaintiff is unlikely to receive the relief they requested. The underlying case was about an anonymous handbill law that the Court believed was overbroad.