Inquisition v. City of Charlotte

Inquisition v. City of Charlotte was a landmark First Amendment Supreme Court decision.

The Inquisition was an underground newspaper produced by East Mecklenburg High School students and their various contributors bi-monthly in Charlotte, North Carolina from April 1968 to late 1969.

Background
The Inquisition was an underground newspaper produced by high school students—mostly attending East Mecklenburg High School—and their various friends bi-monthly in Charlotte, North Carolina from April 1968 to late 1969. Inquisition was the first Underground Press Syndicate member from the U.S. South and a member of Liberation News Service. Copies of Inquisition can be found in 15 university libraries.

After a first issue of only 81, the magazine went to 450 then doubled again by the third issue. By its final issues, the newspaper inspired emotional rejections by parents and became an underground icon for teens.

Inquisition reporters are rumored to have taped one of Jimi Hendrix's last concerts for issue #3.

Superior Court case
The paper was the subject of a landmark First Amendment case, "Inquisition vs City of Charlotte", pitting freedom of the press against a city zoning ordinance from March - May, 1969. The case, which was partially decided by placing the sound of the paper's small printer against the sound of a power mower, was found in favor of Inquisition.

Revisiting
Inquisition was revisited by way of an interview with two founders, Russell Schwarz and Lynwood Sawyer, with scholar Suzanne Sink and host Michael Collins on WFAE's Charlotte Talks on November 10, 2010, and rebroadcast on January 16, 2012.

Inquisition's story was featured in a retrospective on the year 1968 in Charlotte Magazine September 2013.