__NOTOC__ ''Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio'', 236 U.S. 230 (1915), was a

landmark decision Landmark court decisions, in present-day common law legal systems, establish precedents that determine a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially affect the interpretation of existing law. "Leading case" is commonly ...

of the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

ruling by a 9-0 vote that the

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

protection of the

Ohio Constitution The Constitution of the State of Ohio is the basic governing document of the State of Ohio, which in 1803 became the 17th state to join the United States of America. Ohio has had three constitutions since statehood was granted. Ohio was crea ...

, which was substantially similar to the

First Amendment of the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the f ...

, did not extend to

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

Background

The state government of

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

had passed a statute in 1913 forming a board of censors which had the duty of reviewing and approving all films intended to be exhibited in the state. Like other state and municipal governments, Ohio charged a licensing fee to distributors.Pondillo, Bob. "Mutual Film Corp. v. Industrial Commission of Ohio (1915)", ''The First Amendment Encyclopedia'', Middle Tennessee State University
/ref> The board could order the arrest of anyone showing an unapproved film in the state. The plaintiff,

Mutual Film Corporation Mutual Film Corporation was an early American film conglomerate that produced some of Charlie Chaplin's greatest comedies. Founded in 1912, it was absorbed by Film Booking Offices of America, which evolved into RKO Pictures. Founding Mutual's ...

, was a movie distributor and sought an injunction against the Board. Mutual argued that in addition to the violation of its freedom of speech, the censorship board was interfering with

interstate commerce The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amo ...

in violation of the

Dormant Commerce Clause The Dormant Commerce Clause, or Negative Commerce Clause, in American constitutional law, is a legal doctrine that courts in the United States have inferred from the Commerce Clause in Article I of the US Constitution. The primary focus of the d ...

and that the government had illegally delegated legislative authority to a censor board. Those arguments were dismissed by the Court perfunctorily.

Decision

Justice McKenna Joseph McKenna (August 10, 1843 – November 21, 1926) was an American politician who served in all three branches of the U.S. federal government, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Attorney General and as an Associate ...

, writing for the Court stated: The Court described movies in some technical detail and noted their popularity but wrote that as "they may be used for evil, ... We cannot regard he censorship of moviesas beyond the power of government." The Court added that it would be equally unreasonable to grant free speech protection to the theater or the circus and noted that in many prior cases regarding government licensure of theatrical performances, the issue of freedom of opinion had not been raised.

Overturned

The decision that motion pictures did not merit First Amendment protection drove an increase in regulation of film content, which culminated in the enforcement in July 1934 of the

Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

over all Hollywood films. The Production Code, also known as the Hays Code, was not law but an agreement between studios and theaters to self-censor, partly to avoid the patchwork of local censorship laws that existed around the country. In May 1952, the Supreme Court overturned its ''Mutual'' decision in ''

Joseph Burstyn, Inc v. Wilson ''Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson'', 343 U.S. 495 (1952), also referred to as the ''Miracle Decision'', was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court that largely marked the decline of motion picture censorship in the United States. ...

'', popularly known as the "Miracle Decision" since it referred to the

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

''The Miracle'', part of the

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

'' L'Amore'' (1948), directed by

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

. The Production Code was loosened in the 1950s and 1960s and was eventually abandoned, in favor of the

MPAA film rating system The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures ...

in 1968.

References

External links

* * {{US1stAmendment, speech, state=collapsed United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the White Court Overruled United States Supreme Court decisions United States First Amendment case law United States Free Speech Clause case law 1915 in United States case law Film censorship in the United States

Background

Decision

Overturned

See also

References

Further reading

External links