Heart of Dixie · Appeal to Washington
The Editorial on Election Day
Mills v. Alabama (1966)
Charge: Electioneering on election day (Alabama Corrupt Practices Act) - publishing an editorial urging a vote on the day of the electionCourt: Supreme Court of the United States (on review of the Alabama state courts)Docket: Appeal to Washington
Can a newspaper editor be prosecuted for publishing an election-day editorial?
The facts
On November 6, 1962, the day Birmingham voted on whether to replace its city commission with a mayor-council government, the editor of the Birmingham Post-Herald published an editorial urging voters to adopt the mayor-council plan. An Alabama law made it a crime to electioneer or solicit votes on election day for any proposition being voted on. He was arrested and charged. The trial court threw out the charge, finding the law violated free speech, but the Alabama Supreme Court reversed and upheld the law as a reasonable restriction.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: Mills v. Alabama, Mills v. Alabama, 384 U.S. 214 (1966)
Read more at supreme.justia.com. The source reveals the outcome.