Inc. v. Wilson Joseph Burstyn Commissioner of Education of New York etal. - Significance, A Controversial Film, Sacrilege Or Art?, Movies As Free Press, Sacrilege And The Arts
court appellant grounds justices
Appellant
Joseph Burstyn, Inc.
Appellee
Lewis A. Wilson, New York Commissioner of Education
Appellant's Claim
The New York State should not have banned the showing of the film The Miracle on the grounds that the film was "sacrilegious."
Chief Lawyer for Appellant
Ephraim S. London
Chief Lawyers for Appellee
Charles A. Brind, Jr., and Wendell P. Brown, Solicitor General of New York
Justices for the Court
Hugo Lafayette Black, Harold Burton, Tom C. Clark (writing for the Court), William O. Douglas, Felix Frankfurter, Robert H. Jackson, Sherman Minton, Stanley Forman Reed, Fred Moore Vinson
Justices Dissenting
None
Place
Washington, D.C.
Date of Decision
26 May 1952
Decision
That New York should not permit a censor to restrict films on the grounds of "sacrilege."
Related Cases
- Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 (1964).
- Jenkins v. Georgia, 418 U.S. 153 (1974).
Sources
"Why Is the Public When Confronted with Openly Anti-Catholic Imagery, Amused or Indifferent? What Are the Limits? Where Is the Outrage?"The New York Times, 16 May 1998.
Further Readings
- Bartholomew, Paul C. American Constitutional Law, Limitations on Government. Vol. II. Totowa, NJ: Littlefield, Adams, 1970, 1978.
- Biskupic, Joan, and Elder Witt, eds. Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court, 3rd ed. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1996.
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