Jones operated a local movie theatre in a small town that had fallen on hard times. As a last ditch effort to attract customers, he decided to show pornographic movies. From the week the change was made, the theatre had to turn away customers on a regular basis. The local town council was quite upset, however, especially since a number of them represented a conservative and religious constituency. They decided to take away the licence of the theatre but were quickly informed that they did not have the power to do that. They then decided to increase the licence fee from the regular $50 per year to $15,000 per year. Jones was notified of the fact that this course of action was being considered, and he was given a chance to appear before the council to state his case. He did so, but the council decided to go ahead with the decision in any case. This, of course, would force Jones out of business, and so Jones, after exhausting any local remedies and appeals, took the matter to court. Which of the following accurately indicates the legal position of the parties?

A) Jones will be successful and will seek an order of mandamus.
B) Jones will be successful since this is an attempt by a municipal council to indirectly pass criminal law, which is under federal jurisdiction.
C) The municipal council's decision will stand since this is a proper use of their licensing power.
D) Jones will be successful and will seek an order of prohibition.
E) Jones will not be successful since the decision has been made and he has exhausted his remedies.

Question

Minoti Kapur · Accepted Answer

Final Answer : B, Explanation :  The municipal council's attempt to increase the license fee from $50 to $15,000 per year, specifically because they disapproved of the content being shown, can be seen as an indirect attempt to regulate the content of the movies, which falls under the jurisdiction of criminal law, a matter typically reserved for federal or national government, not local councils. This action could be viewed as an attempt to circumvent the limitations on their power by using licensing fees to achieve what they cannot directly legislate on, thus making Jones' position legally stronger.

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