National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley, 524 U.S. 569; 118 S. Ct. 2168; 141 L. Ed. 2d 500 (1998) Facts—Stung by outcries over federal funding of art that was considered to be obscene or blasphemous, Congress amended the National…
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844; 117 S. Ct. 2329; 138 L. Ed. 2d 874 (1997) Facts—The Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) contained provisions designed to protect minors from “indecent” and “patently offensive” communications via the…
New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747; 102 S. Ct. 2248; 73 L. Ed. 3d 1113 (1982) Facts—New York prohibited knowing depiction of sexual performances by children or distribution thereof. Ferber, a proprietor of a Manhattan book- store, sold two…
Miller v. California, 413 U.S.15; 93 S. Ct. 2607; 37 L. Ed. 2d 419 (1973) Facts—California applied its criminal statutes to sexually explicit materials sent through the mails to persons who did not request them. Question—May a state enforce obscenity…
Ginzburg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463; 86 S. Ct. 942; 16 L. Ed. 2d 31 (1966) Facts—Ralph Ginzburg was convicted of violating the federal obscenity statute by producing and selling obscene publications. The government charged that Ginzburg’s advertising openly…
Roth v. United States (Alberts v. California), 354 U.S. 476; 77 S. Ct. 1304; 1 L. Ed. 2d 1498 (1957) Facts—Samuel Roth conducted a business in New York in the publication and sale of books, photographs, and magazines. He was…
Burstyn v. Wilson, 343 U.S. 495; 72 S. Ct. 777; 96 L. Ed. 1098 (1952) Facts—A highly controversial film, The Miracle, produced in Italy and starring Anna Magnani, had at first been licensed for showing in New York and had…
44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island, 517 U.S. 484; 116 S. Ct. 1495; 134 L. Ed. 2d 711 (1996) Facts—Rhode Island has strict laws prohibiting the advertising of the prices of alcoholic products within the state. 44 Liquormart, Inc. (joined…
First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, 435 U.S. 765; 98 S. Ct. 1407; 55 L. Ed. 2d 707 (1978) Facts—Appellants were national banking associations and business corporations that wanted to publicize their views. They opposed a referendum proposal to…
Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc., 425 U.S. 748; 96 S. Ct. 1817; 48 L. Ed. 2d 346 (1976) Facts—The appellees, a consumer group, challenged a Virginia law that states that a pharmacist is guilty…