The legal issues presented in this case will be displayed here.

This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

P owned the rights to exhibit in Chicago the film known as 'Don Juan.' It applied for a permit, as Chicago's (D) ordinance required, and tendered the license fee but refused to submit the film for examination. D refused to issue a permit. The sole ground for denial was P's refusal to submit the film for examination as required. P sued seeking injunctive relief ordering the issuance of the permit without submission of the film and restraining the city officials from interfering with the exhibition of the picture. P claimed that the municipal code was a prior restraint within the prohibition of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The District Court dismissed the complaint on the grounds that neither a substantial federal question nor even a justiciable controversy was presented. The Court of Appeals affirmed, finding that the case presented merely an abstract question of law since neither the film nor evidence of its content was submitted. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.

The court's holding and decision will be displayed here.

Legal analysis from Dean's Law Dictionary will be displayed here.