Also known as: void on the face · facially void · facially invalid · patently void
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statute, regulation, or other legal provision that is invalid based solely on its text because it violates constitutional standards on its face without regard to particular applications.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Riverside Mall Management adopted a rule barring annoying or disparaging comments about retailers. Consumer activist Jordan Lee was arrested for peaceful leafletting and brought a facial overbreadth challenge. The court rejected the challenge because Lee failed to prove the rule prohibited substantially more protected speech than its legitimate applications to harassment.
A school district denied a religious group use of its facilities for film screenings on family values. The group sued claiming the denial policy was void on its face for viewpoint discrimination. The court held the policy invalid from its terms because it allowed secular but not religious viewpoints on the same subjects.
The medical school reserved sixteen seats for minority applicants and rejected Allan Bakke despite his higher scores. Bakke challenged the quota as void on its face. The court struck the program because its explicit racial classification could not survive strict scrutiny on the face of the policy.
San Diego banned most off-site billboards while allowing on-site signs. Metromedia sued claiming the ordinance was void on its face. The court invalidated the ban because its content distinctions between commercial and noncommercial speech were apparent from the text and failed First Amendment scrutiny.
Federal law limited soft-money contributions to political parties. Challengers argued the limits were void on their face. The court upheld the provisions because the text regulated only contributions and left ample room for independent expenditures and issue advocacy.
Florida required newspapers to print replies from political candidates they criticized. The Miami Herald refused and challenged the statute as void on its face. The court struck the law because its compelled-speech requirement was evident from the text and violated editorial freedom.
The challenger must demonstrate that the law prohibits a substantial amount of protected speech relative to its plainly legitimate sweep. If that showing fails the statute remains enforceable against unprotected conduct.
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The entire statute is struck down rather than severed. Speakers need not apply for permits or comply with the invalid rule and may raise its invalidity as a defense to prosecution.
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Yes. Procedural defects such as an ex parte TRO lacking any expiration date or exceeding the fourteen-day limit make the order invalid from its face regardless of the underlying merits.
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…v. United States , 395 U. S. 185 (1969). Mrs. Moore defends against the State's prosecution on the ground that the ordinance is facially invalid, an issue that the zoning review board lacks competency to resolve. In any event, this Court has never held that a general principle of exhaustion could foreclose a criminal defendant from…