The United States Postal Service v. Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations et al., 1980, was a case that revolved around the issue of whether or not civic associations had the right to place unstamped hand-delivered messages in residential mailboxes. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the United States Postal Service (USPS), upholding a federal statute which granted USPS exclusive access to mailboxes. The court held that this law did not violate First Amendment rights as it served significant government interests including protecting homeowners from unwanted mailbox clutter and ensuring revenue for USPS through postage fees. It also helped maintain efficient postal service by preventing confusion and misdelivery caused by unauthorized use of mailboxes.

The dissenting opinion in the United States Postal Service v. Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations case argued that the majority's decision was a misinterpretation of federal law and an infringement on First Amendment rights. The dissenters believed that the statute at issue, 18 U.S.C § 1725, which prohibits depositing mailable matter without postage into letterboxes approved by the USPS, should not be interpreted to ban civic associations from placing informational materials directly into mailboxes. They contended this interpretation would give too much power to Congress over communication channels and could potentially lead to censorship or favoritism towards certain messages or groups. Furthermore, they asserted that such a broad reading of § 1725 is inconsistent with its legislative history and purpose - preventing revenue loss for USPS due to unpaid postage rather than regulating public access to mailboxes.