''Hannegan v. Esquire, Inc.'', 327 U.S. 146 (1946), was a

U.S. 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 o ...

case argued between the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

and '' Esquire'' magazine. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the USPS was without statutory authority to revoke a periodical's second class permit on the basis of objectionable material that was not obscene..

Background

''Hannegan v. Esquire, Inc.'' was the culmination of a bitter legal battle between ''Esquire'' magazine and the USPS that began in 1943. Taking offense to the Varga Girl and other pin-up style imagery, Postmaster General

Frank Comerford Walker Frank Comerford Walker (May 30, 1886 – September 13, 1959) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the United States Postmaster General from 1940 until 1945, and the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1943 until 1944. Biog ...

convened a hearing board in October 1943 to determine whether ''Esquire'' contained obscenity. A host of national figures were called in as witnesses to offer their "expertise" on whether the Varga Girl and other ''Esquire'' content was obscene, among them

H. L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...

and Rev. Peter Marshall. The press had a field-day covering the affair and ridiculing the Postmaster General and his department. When the hearing board ruled 2–1 in favor of ''Esquire'', Postmaster General Walker refused to accept their decision, and revoked ''Esquire's'' second-class mailing privileges. ''Esquire'' then filed suit in federal district court to enjoin the revocation order. Visiting Judge T. Whitfield Davidson ruled in favor of the Post Office in ''Esquire vs. Walker''. Esquire appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals where Judge Thurman Arnold reversed the decision. Postmaster General Frank Walker (who was succeeded by Robert Hannegan in June 1945) appealed the case to the Supreme Court. In 1946 the Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in favor of ''Esquire''.

Opinion of the Court

Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion for the court:

To uphold the order of revocation would, therefore, grant the Postmaster General a power of censorship. Such a power is so abhorrent to our traditions that a purpose to grant it should not be easily inferred ... To withdraw the second-class rate from this publication today because its contents seemed to one official not good for the public would sanction withdrawal of the second-class rate tomorrow from another periodical whose social or economic views seemed harmful to another official ... Congress has left the Postmaster General with no power to prescribe standards for the literature or the art which a mailable periodical disseminates.''Hannegan'', 327 U.S. at 151-58.

The ''Hannegan v. Esquire, Inc.'' decision had important social implications for postwar society. The decision sanctioned the pin-up as a socially acceptable cultural symbol, and helped spur an unprecedented increase in pornographic magazines during the 1950s.

References

External links

* {{US1stAmendment, press, state=expanded 1946 in United States case law American Civil Liberties Union litigation United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Stone Court United States Free Speech Clause case law United States Postal Service litigation Esquire (magazine)