Universal Specialties, Inc. v. Blount
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
On March 5, 1971, this three-judge District Court heard oral argument on plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary in
The Temporary Restraining Order, issued by reason of the failure of the Post Office Department to publish regulations thirty days prior to their effective date, as required by law, was revoked on February 16, 1971, after expiration of the thirty-day period, and there is no Temporary Restraining Order in effect.
It was stipulated by the parties that the evidence considered on the preliminary injunction be also considered as evidence in the trial on the merits. The hearing on the motion for preliminary injunction was deemed to be consolidated with the trial on the merits, and the matter was submitted for final determination with no oral testimony being taken.
The Court concludes that the protecting of persons against the receiving of unwanted mail is constitutional and that reasonable regulations to implement the statute are proper and enforceable. See, e. g., Rowan v. United States Post Office Dep’t., 397 U.S. 728, 90 S.Ct. 1484, 25 L.Ed.2d 736 (1970). However, we have concluded that the regulations in question were not implemented correctly. They were not published in the Federal Register at least thirty days prior to their effective date as required by the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 553(d). The Post Office Department could not disregard the explicit Congressional directions which govern the issuance of significant regulations like those that are here challenged.
Pending further proceedings herein, It is ordered that the defendants and their agents and employees be and are hereby temporarily enjoined, until further order of this Court, from enforcing the regulations in question.
Plaintiffs’ counsel will prepare and submit proposed Findings, Conclusions and Order in accordance with the foregoing.
. Expecting that the Post Office Department will republish and reissue its regulations, the majority of the Court chooses now to note its concern over 39 C.F.R. § 124.9(d) (1), which would have required the mailer of sexually oriented advertisements to subscribe to a list, compiled by the Post Office Department, of those persons desiring not to receive the proscribed ads at a cost of not less than $5,000 nor more than $10,000. The Post Office Department failed to justify this seemingly oppressive amount. The imposition of financial burdens to suppress constitutionally protected material is clearly an unconstitutional restraint on free speech and press. See, e. g., Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105, 03 S.Ct. 870, 87 L.Ed. 1292 (1943) ; Grosjean v. American Press Co., 297 U.S. 233, 56 S.Ct. 444, 80 L.Ed. 660 (1936). The majority is troubled by the concept that the Government may accommodate those people who do not want to receive, constitutionally protected material by imposing a substantial financial burden upon those who desire or are willing to receive it. It is our tentative opinion that while a fee for compiling the contemplated list may be charged, it must be reasonable. The prices of publications of the Government Printing Office occur to us as a relevant consideration in determining an appropriate charge.
Concurring in Part
(dissenting in part).
The Temporary Restraining Order referred to in the majority Memorandum and Order, which was revoked on February 16, 1971, by reason of the expiration of the 30-day period from publication of the Regulations on January 13, 1971, was issued and revoked by the undersigned.
Although the law requires the publication of substantive regulations 30 days before the effective date of the statute (5 U.S.C. § 553(d) ), the subject Regula
I adhere to my prior ruling and conclude that the effective date of the Regulations should not be delayed until 30 days after a re-publication thereof. Borg-Johnson Electronics v. Christenberry, D.C., 169 F.Supp. 746, 752.
The evidence before the Court does not disclose that the cost of the Post Office list of persons not desiring to receive the material involved, as provided in the Regulations (§ 124.9(d) (1) ), is confiscatory or would result in irreparable injury to any of the plaintiffs required to purchase the list, and I conclude that due process is not violated by the Regulations issued pursuant to provisions of the Act assessing the cost of its Regulations to the industry.
I would enjoin only the requiring of the purchase or use of the Post Office list by anyone who mails sexually oriented advertisements only to persons who have specifically requested in writing to receive same (see affidavit of plaintiff William Summers), on the condition that such material was not pornographic or obscene.
For the foregoing reasons I dissent from the opinion and order of the majority.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNIVERSAL SPECIALTIES, INC., a California corporation v. Winton M. BLOUNT, Postmaster General of the United States, and Edward Schneringer, Officer in Charge of the Post Office Department of the City of Los Angeles, State of California
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published