New York Times Co. v. U.S. (1971)
The New York Times was restrained by a federal judge from continuing printing a classified historical study on the Vietnam War policy. The Court allowed the printing of the classified documents, termed the “Pentagon Papers,” and based its decision on the prior restraint decision reached in Near v. Minnesota in 1931. The Court hinted to government officials that it could make such a publication a criminal act, if it chose to do so.
Tinker v. Des Moines Community School Dist. (1969)
The Court ruled on a public school regulation that banned wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. The Court’s opinion in this matter was that symbolic speech, such as the armband, is protected from prior restraint under the First Amendment.
Times Film Corp. v. Chicago (1961)
A Chicago ordinance requiring the submission of motion pictures to the appropriate city agency for examination before exhibition to gain an appropriate exhibit permit was held unconstitutional. Again, the prior restraint doctrine was reiterated. No prior censorship of communication, ideas or medium shall be constitutional.
Smith v. California (1960)
Los Angeles passed an ordinance that placed the responsibility on the bookseller to withhold those materials they judged obscene from sale. The Court voided this law. Its decision was based on the opinion that booksellers are not to be held criminally liable for the materials. According to the Court, they would tend to restrict the books they sell to those they had inspected, and, as a result, the state has implied a restriction upon the distribution of literature that is constitutionally protected. Furthermore, the bookseller’s self-censorship would be an instance of prior restraint on the public.
Kingsley v. New York (1959)
The State of New York created the Education Department that would have among its duties the granting of licenses for films. The Department refused to grant such license to Kingsley International Pictures Corp. to show “Lady Chatterly’s Lover” because its implied theme was sexual immorality. The Court voided this action. Justice Potter Stewart stated, “[t]he First Amendment guarantee is not confined to the expression of ideas that are conventional or shared by a majority.” On this issue, Justice Douglas added, “I can find in the First Amendment no room for any censor whether he is scanning an editorial, reading a news broadcast, editing a novel or a play or previewing a movie.”
Kunz v. New York (1951)
A New York City ordinance, which required a street preacher to obtain a permit from the police, was deemed void by the Supreme Court. According to the Court’s opinion, such an ordinance gave administrative persons discretionary power to control the speech and assembly rights of others. This is a clear violation of prior restraint on the rights set forth in the First Amendment.
