Carroll v. President and Commissioners of Princess Anne 393 U.S. 175 (1968)
CARROLL v. PRESIDENT AND COMMISSIONERS OF PRINCESS ANNE 393 U.S. 175 (1968)
After a meeting of a "white supremacist" group at which "aggressively and militantly racist" speeches were made to a racially mixed crowd, the group announced another rally for the next night. Local officials obtained an ex parte order enjoining the group from holding a rally for ten days. The Supreme Court, reviewing this order two years later, held that the case fell within an exception to the doctrine of mootness : rights should not be defeated by short-term orders "capable of repetition, yet evading review."
A unanimous Court held that the ex parte order violated the first amendment. An injunction against expressive activity requires notice to the persons restrained and a chance to be heard, absent a showing that it is impossible to give them notice and a hearing.
Kenneth L. Karst
(1986)