Jones v. City of Opelika
Jones v. City of Opelika | |
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Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Majority | Reed, joined by Roberts, Frankfurter, Byrnes, Jackson |
Dissent | Stone, joined by Murphy, Black, Douglas |
Dissent | Murphy, joined by Stone, Black, Douglas |
Dissent | Black, Douglas, Murphy |
Laws applied | |
U.S. Const. amend. I |
Jones v. City of Opelika, 316 U.S. 584 (1942), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a statute prohibiting the sale of books without a license was constitutional because it covered not a religious ritual but only individuals who engaged in a commercial activity.[1]
Background
The city of
Decision
Majority opinion
Writing for the majority, Justice Reed wrote that individual rights must be balanced against competing rights of the state. He asserted that the fact that a person is engaged in disseminating religious materials does not place his action above regulation by the state. When people choose to use the vending of their religious books and tracts as a source of funds, the financial aspects of their transactions need not be wholly disregarded. To subject any religious or didactic group to a reasonable fee for their money-making activities does not require a finding that the licensed acts are purely commercial. It is enough that money is earned by the sale of articles.
When traditional means of distribution are used by religious groups, they can be held to the same standards as non-religious groups. The court held that Jones had no standing to challenge that part of the statute because he did not have a license that was revoked arbitrarily by the state.
Dissenting opinions
The two principal dissenting opinions, by Chief Justice
Justices
Effects
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The decision forced religious groups to meet the same requirements as nonreligious groups engaged in a similar activity. The fact that they were selling religious materials did not exempt them from statutes regulating commercial acts.
Subsequent history
In the one paragraph per curiam decision Jones v. City of Opelika (II), 319 U.S. 103 (1943),
See also
References
- ^ Jones v. City of Opelika, 316 U.S. 584 (1942). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Jones v. City of Opelika, 319 U.S. 103 (1943). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
External links
- Works related to Jones v. City of Opelika (316 U.S. 584) at Wikisource
- Text of Jones v. City of Opelika, 316 U.S. 584 (1942) is available from: CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress OpenJurist