Martin v. City of Struthers
Martin v. Struthers, 319 U.S. 141 (1943), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that a law prohibiting the distribution of handbills from door to door violated the First Amendment rights of a Jehovah's Witness, specifically their freedom of speech. The ruling was 5-4 and deemed trespassing laws a better fit for the town imposing the ordinance. Background Historically, Jehovah’s Witnesses often ran into conflict when going door to door distributing their religious pamphlets and information. They were often met with violence and/or arrest for practicing what they saw as their constitutional rights of religion and freedom of speech. In 1943, a woman from Struthers, Ohio by the name of Thelma Martin went knocking on doors to pass out Jehovah's Witness leaflets to people in her city. Martin's visits were not well received by some households which led to her arrest. She was convicted "in the Mayor's Court" and fined $10.00 () for violating a Struthers, Ohio city ordinance which made it illegal to knock on doors to distribute handouts to that contained information about religious meetings. Martin confessed to handing out invitations to their religious meetings. The city ordinance was created to keep solicitors