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''Cox v. New Hampshire'', 312 U.S. 569 (1941),〔(312 U.S. 569 ) Full text of the opinion courtesy of Findlaw.com.〕 was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that, although the government cannot regulate the contents of speech, it can place reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on speech for the public safety. Here, the Court held that government may require organizers of any parade or procession on public streets to have a license and pay a fee. Sixty-eight Jehovah's Witnesses had assembled at their church and divided into smaller groups that marched along sidewalks, displaying signs, and handing out leaflets advertising a meeting. During the march, groups of 15 to 20 people marched in single file down sidewalks in the district, interfering with normal foot travel. In 1941, all 68 Jehovah's Witnesses were convicted in a New Hampshire municipal court for violating a state statute which prohibited parades and processions on public streets without a license. The defendants claimed that their First Amendment rights were violated including their rights to freedom of worship and freedom of assembly. ==Decision of the Court== Does the New Hampshire state statute that prohibits unlicensed parades violate the First Amendment’s guarantees of freedom of speech and assembly as applied to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment? No. Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes delivered the opinion for the unanimous Court. The Court held that a municipality’s ability to impose regulations that create order and safety for its populace does not infringe on the civil liberties of its people. Because the statute in question only grants a town selectman or licensing board the limited authority to ensure that a proposed parade will not interfere with the proper uses of streets, there is not opportunity for it to wield undue or arbitrary power that would infringe on constitutional rights. The Court also held that there was no evidence that the statute had been administered unfairly in this case. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cox v. New Hampshire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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