County ordinance provided for fee of up to $1,000 per day for parades,
demonstrations, assemblies, etc. on public property. The county
administrator granting the license determined the amount. The Nationalist Movement, a private
organization, proposed to conduct a rally on the courthouse steps on a
Saturday afternoon to oppose the federal Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. The county imposed a
$100 fee. The Nationalists did not pay the fee or hold the rally, instead
it instituted action against the county in United States District Court asking for an
injunction to prevent the county from interfering with the organization's
plans. The District Court refused to grant such relief, ruling that the fee was based
solely on content-neutral criteria of the actual costs incurred. A panel
of the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the ordinance violated the First
Amendment. The case then went to the Supreme Court.