Jurist
DONATE NOW
  • News ▾
    • All Legal News
    • US Legal News
    • World Legal News
    • This Day @ Law
  • Dispatches ▾
    • All Dispatches
    • Afghanistan
    • Canada
    • EU
    • Ghana
    • India
    • Iran
    • Israel
    • Kazakhstan
    • Kenya
    • Myanmar
    • Pakistan
    • Peru
    • Sri Lanka
    • UK
    • Ukraine
    • US
  • Commentary ▾
    • All Commentary
    • Faculty Commentary
    • Professional Commentary
    • Student Commentary
  • Features ▾
    • All Features
    • Explainers
    • Long Reads
    • Multimedia
    • Interviews
  • Topics
  • Rule of Law ▾
    • Materials
    • Podcasts
  • About ▾
    • FAQ
    • Staff
    • Awards
    • Apply
    • Journalist in Residence
    • Board of Directors
    • Contact Us
  • Donate ▾
    • Why Support JURIST?
    • Donate
    • Honor Roll
Pennsylvania passed first US movie censorship laws
JURISTbot
July 19, 2009 03:02:00 am

On July 19, 1911, Pennsylvania became the first state in the US to approve laws allowing censorship of movies.

After numerous other states followed Pennsylvania’s lead, the US Supreme Court eventually upheld film censorship in 1915.

Law students to join jurist
GET OUR DAILY DIGEST
LinkedIn YouTube Instagram Facebook RSS Twitter
Latest DISPATCHES
SCOTUS dispatch: justices grapple with nationwide injunctions blocking Trump’s birthright citizenship order

SCOTUS dispatch: justices grapple with nationwide injunctions blocking Trump’s birthright citizenship order

Ghana dispatch: Supreme Court upholds suspension of the Chief Justice

Ghana dispatch: Supreme Court upholds suspension of the Chief Justice

Latest COMMENTARY
Exclusion Is Not Solidarity: Tilburg’s Boycott Hurts Students, Not States

Exclusion Is Not Solidarity: Tilburg’s Boycott Hurts Students, Not States

by Liran Bean | Tilburg University and Sharon Basch | University of Pittsburgh School of Law
An Opportunity for Justice: The New Aggression Tribunal for Ukraine

An Opportunity for Justice: The New Aggression Tribunal for Ukraine

by David M. Crane | Founding Chief Prosecutor of the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone
Latest FEATURES
Explainer: US Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Trump’s Challenge to Birthright Citizenship

Explainer: US Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Trump’s Challenge to Birthright Citizenship

Voices of Afghanistan Interview Series: ‘We, the female doctors—once symbols of women’s progress, ability, and independence—are now facing barriers, threats, and silence’

Voices of Afghanistan Interview Series: ‘We, the female doctors—once symbols of women’s progress, ability, and independence—are now facing barriers, threats, and silence’

THIS DAY @ LAW

Biological Weapons Convention goes into force

On March 26, 1975, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction went into force. Today, 162 countries have signed the Convention, pledging never "to develop, produce, stockpile or otherwise acquire or retain" biological weapons. Some signatory nations, however, have reserved the right to hold certain biological weapons for "prophylactic" purposes. Learn more about the UN Biological Weapons Convention.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor born

US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was born in El Paso, Texas on March 26, 1930.

Jurist
Home Attributions Disclaimer Privacy Policy Contact Us
Copyright © 2026, JURIST Legal News & Research Services, Inc.
JURISTnews is a collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh