LAMONT v. POSTMASTER GENERAL

Legal Principle at Issue

Whether a federal statute authorizing the Postmaster General to detain unsealed foreign mail deemed "communist political propaganda" and deliver it only upon the addressee's written request violated the addressee's First Amendment rights.

Action

Reversed. Petitioning party received a favorable disposition.

Importance of Case

This was the first case wherein the Court declared a federal law unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds. It was also the first case in which the Court used the precise pharse "marketplace of ideas." (Compare Abrams v. US: "competition of the market")