Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville 422 U.S. 205 (1975)

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ERZNOZNIK v. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE 422 U.S. 205 (1975)

An ordinance prohibited drive-in movie theaters from showing films containing nudity on screens visible from public streets or places. Conceding that the films were constitutionally protected speech, the city asserted an authority to protect its citizens, particularly minors, against unwilling exposure to offensive materials. The Supreme Court declared the ordinance unconstitutional, holding that people on public streets, unlike people in their homes or people on buses who are a captive audience, have only a limited interest in privacy which does not justify the city's discrimination among movies based solely on content.

Kim McLane Wardlaw
(1986)

(see also: Obscenity.)