Freedman v. Maryland, 380 U.S. 51 (1965), is a United States Supreme Court case that ended government-operated rating boards with a decision that a rating board could only approve a film and had no power to ban a film. The ruling also concluded that a rating board must either approve a film within a reasonable time, or go to court to stop a film from being shown in theatres. Other court cases determined that television stations are federally licensed, so local rating boards have no jurisdiction over films shown on television. When the movie industry set up its own rating system—the Motion Picture Association of America—most state and local boards ceased operating. Warning: template has been deprecated.
United States Supreme Court
Freedman v. Maryland
Argued: Nov. 19, 1964. --- Decided: March 1, 1965
Felix J. Bilgrey, New York City, for appellant.
Thomas B. Finan, Baltimore, Md., for appellee.
Mr. Justice BRENNAN delivered the opinion of the Court.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).
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