Lovell v. City of Griffin
Headline: Municipal rule that banned distributing any pamphlets without a city manager’s permit is struck down, protecting residents and religious distributors from prior licensing and censorship by local officials.
Holding:
- Prevents cities from requiring permits to distribute religious pamphlets or magazines.
- Protects pamphleteers, publishers, and street distributors from prior censorship by local officials.
- Allows defendants to challenge overbroad distribution laws without first seeking a permit.
Summary
Background
Alma Lovell, a woman in Griffin, Georgia, was convicted under a city ordinance for handing out a religious pamphlet and a magazine called the "Golden Age" without first obtaining written permission from the City Manager. She was sentenced to fifty days’ imprisonment in default of a $50 fine. Lovell refused to apply for a permit because she believed she was sent by Jehovah and that applying would disobey that command. After losing in the state courts, the case reached the Supreme Court to decide whether the city ordinance was constitutional.
Reasoning
The Court addressed whether a municipal rule that forbids the distribution of any printed material without a permit violates the freedoms of speech and of the press as protected against state action by the Fourteenth Amendment. The opinion explained that the ordinance covered all "literature of any kind," at any time, place, or manner, and was not limited to obscenity or disorderly conduct. By making distribution subject to a prior license from the City Manager, the law imposed a system of censorship and restraint that the Constitution forbids. The Court emphasized that the liberty to circulate printed matter is as essential as the liberty to publish and concluded the ordinance was invalid on its face. Because it was facially void, Lovell need not have sought a permit and could defend against the charge.
Real world impact
The Court reversed the conviction and sent the case back for proceedings consistent with this ruling. The decision protects individuals and groups who hand out pamphlets, religious tracts, and other printed materials from municipal schemes that require prior permission. Cities must use narrower rules aimed at specific harms rather than broad permit systems that license all distribution.
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