Fowler v. Rhode Island

Background

Jehovah’s Witnesses held a peaceful religious meeting in a Pawtucket public park where a visiting minister spoke over loud-speakers. The city had an ordinance forbidding any person from addressing political or religious meetings in parks, though it allowed clubs to visit in a body so long as no public address was made under their auspices. The minister was arrested, fined $5, and his conviction was affirmed by the Rhode Island Supreme Court before the case reached the United States Supreme Court.

Reasoning

The key question was whether the ordinance, as applied, treated this religious group differently from other religions. The State conceded that mainstream church services, like Catholic or Protestant services, could be held in the park while the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ sermon was barred. The Court held that this differential treatment amounted to unconstitutional religious discrimination, noting prior cases where denial of park access to Jehovah’s Witnesses was invalid. The majority relied on constitutional protections for religion and fair treatment under the law to reverse the conviction.

Real world impact

The decision protects religious speakers from selective enforcement of park speech rules and reverses the minister’s conviction. Cities cannot apply a speech ban to one religious group while allowing similar services by others. The case was sent back to the Rhode Island court for further proceedings consistent with the ruling, so the broader question of all park restrictions was not necessarily settled.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Frankfurter agreed with the result but rested his view on equal protection (the guarantee of equal treatment), while Justice Jackson simply agreed in the outcome.