In the case of Lee Art Theatre, Inc. v. Virginia (1967), the U.S Supreme Court upheld a conviction against Lee Art Theatre for showing an obscene film in violation of Virginia law. The theatre had argued that its due process rights were violated because it was not given prior notice and hearing before seizure of the film by police officers who viewed it as part of their investigation into obscenity complaints about another movie being shown at the same theater. However, this argument was rejected by the court on grounds that such procedures are not required when dealing with issues related to obscenity which is considered outside First Amendment protection. Furthermore, they stated that immediate action might be necessary to prevent further exhibition of such material harmful to public morals and decency.

In the dissenting opinion for Lee Art Theatre, Inc. v. Virginia, Justice William O. Douglas argued that the First Amendment's protection of free speech should extend to obscene materials as well as other forms of expression. He contended that obscenity laws were often used to suppress unpopular or controversial ideas and could be easily manipulated by those in power to control public discourse. Furthermore, he believed it was not within the Court's jurisdiction to determine what constitutes 'obscene' material and felt this responsibility should lie with individual citizens instead.