less than 1 minute read

Inc. v. Wilson Joseph Burstyn Commissioner of Education of New York etal.

Significance



This decision definitively established motion pictures as part of the "press" and therefore protected by the First Amendment. The decision condemned any use of religious notions as a means of making governmental decisions, and it also condemned vagueness in any language that concerned censorship.



In late 1950, an Italian film directed by world-famous director Roberto Rossellini and featuring the international star Anna Magnani opened at the Paris Theatre in New York. This was the unlikely beginning of one of the Supreme Court's key rulings on censorship, the film industry, and the separation of church and state.

Additional topics

Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationNotable Trials and Court Cases - 1941 to 1953Inc. 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