Board of Airport Commissioners v. Jews for Jesus, Inc.
United States Supreme Court
482 U.S. 569 (1987)
The Board of Airport Commissioners for Los Angeles International Airport (defendant) passed a resolution banning "First Amendment activities by any individual and/or entity" in the airport's Central Terminal Area, with violators subject to legal action. A minister for Jews for Jesus, Inc. (plaintiff), a religious nonprofit, was stopped by an airport officer while distributing free religious literature there and told to leave or face legal action; he complied. Jews for Jesus and the minister sued, claiming the resolution was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad. The district court and court of appeals agreed the resolution was unconstitutional, and the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether a resolution expressly prohibiting all First Amendment activity, without a limiting judicial construction, is facially unconstitutional as overbroad.