Question

In Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, the Court cited "prior restraint on freedom of speech and the press" as reason to void a New York law forbidding the showing of a particular motion picture. Prior restraint means that the government

A. can prevent the film from being shown before it is released.
B. cannot curb ideas shown in the film before they are expressed.
C. can curb ideas shown in the film in order to protect the public.
D. cannot curb ideas shown in the film unless they are objectionable.

Answer 1

The correct response is Option B: Cannot curb ideas shown in the film before they are expressed.

Step-by-step explanation:

The case called Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson, 343 U.S. 495 (1952), was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision that helped to assure less censorship of the movie industry in the United States. This ruling determined that a New York education law that allowed censorship of a motion picture film was a "restraint on freedom of speech." This would make such efforts of censorship a violation of the First Amendment. This was a landmark case because previously SCOTUS had made a decision in the Mutual Film Corporation v. Industrial Commission of Ohio case where movies were not considered a form of speech worthy of First Amendment protection because they were commercial or for business purposes.