In 1918 a Baltimore City circuit court upheld the censorship board's decision.
[3] The court ruling was based on an Attorney General opinion that films calculated to obstruct or discourage recruitment were detrimental to the public morals.
[3] Its powers were weakened after the Supreme Court case Freedman v. Maryland, 380 U.S. 51 (1965), which held that it could not outright ban a film's release through the refusal of a license, and had to secure a court order if it wanted to prevent a work from being shown.
[4] In 1970, the authority of the State Board of Censors was assigned to the newly created Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.
[2] A resolution to save the board from disbandment failed in the Maryland Senate, and Governor Harry Hughes had pledged to veto it if it had passed.