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Cantwell v. Conn., No. 632,
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, May 20, 1940, Decided
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Overview: Defendants were arrested after they distributed religious materials and later convicted. Defendants claimed that their activities were not within Conn. Gen. Stat. ? 6294 but consisted only of distribution of books, pamphlets, and periodicals. After granting certiorari, the Supreme Court held that the applicable statute deprived defendants of their liberty without due process of law in contravention of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The Court determined that the secretary of the public welfare council was authorized to withhold his approval if he determined that the cause was not a religious one. Such authority constituted a denial of liberty protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Additionally, there was no showing that the co-defendant was noisy, truculent, overbearing or offensive when he was on a public street. The co-defendant's actions did not amount to a breach of the peace. The judgment was reversed and remanded.
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