City of Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. (1987)
- Docket
- 86-1042
- Decided
- 1987-01-01
Summary
Question: Did Lakewood's city ordinance violate freedom of speech rights as protected by the First Amendment? Conclusion: Yes. The Court held that the licensing ordinance was facially invalid since it gave Lakewood's mayor unbridled discretion to discriminate against permit seekers, based on the content of their publications and viewpoints. This, in turn, promoted self-censorship by publishers and other speakers who sought to curry favor with the mayor's officer in order to secure the approval of their licensing requests. The Court added that while cities may require the periodic licensing of newsracks on public property, even subjecting such procedures to reasonable restrictions, they may not use language which is so open-ended as to give city officials unlimited subjective discretion over permit approvals.