(A)n injunction decree must be as definite, clear and precise as possible, and when practicable it should inform the defendant of the acts he is restrained from doing, without calling on him for inferences or conclusions about which persons might well differ and without leaving anything for further hearing.
(The order) does not sufficiently appraise (sic) appellants of the acts they are restrained from doing. In effect, the court is passing upon the obscenity of books, magazines, newspapers and films not before it, and perhaps not now in existence; and it prohibits generally the defendants from violating a penal statute without clear, precise or definite guidelines.
The order in question here restrains only the exhibition of films depicting specific activities conducted in a certain manner. All these activities are expressly defined by statute and have been authoritatively construed to constitute obscenity not entitled to constitutional protection. The order does not contain a blanket suppression of films vaguely labeled “obscene,” and there is no suppression of films by name or any other designation except by reference to the specific conduct depicted therein.
We held in Freedman, and we reaffirm here, that a system of prior restraint runs afoul of the First Amendment if it lacks certain safeguards: First, the burden of instituting judicial proceedings, and of proving that the material is unprotected, must rest on the censor. Second, any restraint prior to judicial review can be imposed only for a specified brief period and only for the purpose of preserving the status quo. Third, a prompt Final judicial determination must be assured. 420 U.S., at 560, 95 S.Ct. at 1247 (emphasis added).
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