Maryland State Board of Censors
The Maryland State Board of Censors was a three-member state agency created in 1916 required to view all films to be shown in the state, and decide whether or not the films were "moral and proper." Without approval of the agency, a film could not be legally shown in Maryland. The agency was also charged with enforcing their decisions.
One agency decision against a film led to the Supreme Court case Freedman v. Maryland, 380 U.S. 51, which placed significant restrictions on state censorship statutes.
In 1970 the authority of the State Board of Censors was assigned to the newly created Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Due in part to rising costs of maintenance, the board was dissolved in 1981. At the time of its disbanding, it was the last state-specific film censorship agency in the United States.
