Greetings Primarysource:
I found a solid reference to the origin of this quote:
"Second, people often define "inequality" the way the Supreme Court
defines pornography—as Justice Potter Stewart wrote in Jacobellis v.
Ohio (1964), "I can't define pornography, but I know it when I see
it."
From http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=1229
I then searched Jacobellis v. Ohio 1964:
Found at http://www.aegis.com/law/SCt/Decisions/1964/378US184.html
U.S. Supreme Court
JACOBELLIS v. OHIO, 378 U.S. 184 (1964)
APPEAL FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF OHIO. No. 11.
Argued March 26, 1963. Restored to the calendar for reargument April
29, 1963. Reargued April 1, 1964.
Decided June 22, 1964.
"MR. JUSTICE STEWART, concurring.
"It is possible to read the Court's opinion in Roth v. United States
and Alberts v. California, 354 U.S. 476, in a variety of ways. In
saying this, I imply no criticism of the Court, which in those cases
was faced with the task of trying to define what may be indefinable. I
have reached the conclusion, which I think is confirmed at least by
negative implication in the Court's decisions since Roth and Alberts,1
that under the First and Fourteenth Amendments criminal laws in this
area are constitutionally limited to hard-core pornography.2 I shall
not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand
to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could
never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it,
and the motion picture involved in this case is not that."
There are the words "I shall not today attempt further to define the
kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand
description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing
so. But I know it when I see it..." However, the quote that has
emerged from his writing is different that his original statement. It
is quite possible that a reporter stated "He said he couldn't define
it but he knew it when he saw it" and it became convoluted from there.
Or it was a reporter's paraphrasing of Stewart's commentary such as
"He said he couldn't define pornography but 'I know it when I see
it.'"
Also, here are the dates of service of the men you mentioned:
Potter Stewart (1958-1981)
Harry A. Blackmun (1970-1994)
William H. Rehnquist (1972-Present)
These names and dates appear at
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/cases/judges.htm
I hope my research has cleared up the attribution for you. :)
Best regards,
journalist-ga
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