JGJ Merchandise Corp. v. City of New York, New York, et al.

Where a municipality seeks to regulate and restrict the operation of establishments that offer expression protected by the First Amendment under a zoning ordinance, what burden of proof must the municipality bear once the constitutionally protected establishments have furnished evidence that disputes the municipality’s rationale for its zoning ordinance?

Whether New York City’s adult zoning resolution, which authorizes the Building Commissioner to consider “titles” and adopt rules to determine the “substantial purpose” of a bookstore, among other factors, endows officials with unbridled discretion and violates the First Amendment.