Marketplace

MARKETPLACE
NEWSLETTER
PAGE 9, JUL y 30, 1974
LAW Of"f"ICES
WARREN
I . WOLFE
NCORPORATEO
1900 AVE N UE
or
THE STA RS
LOS AN GflfS. CA LI FO RN I A 9 0067
TELEPHON E fZ13J 277 1042
July 5, 1974
Mr. Bill Gersh
Marketplace
185 North Wabash Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60601
Dear Bill:
On June 21st the California Supreme Court recognized
flipper-type pinball games as a legitimate form of
recreation and amusement.
The high court held the games to be predominately of
skill and that any governmental attempt to ban flipper
g~es, while exempting other similarly skilled activities,
violated the equal protection guarantees of the United
States and California constitutions. The court could
find no functional difference between flipper games and
other skilled activities such as archery, baseball or
basketball.
It a ll started in 1939 when the City of Los Angeles adopted
an ordinance prohibiting pin games, marble games, etc. At
the time, a laudable effort to arrest gambling then pre-
vailing in Los Angeles . We know, of course, that many
American communities went through a similar experience in
the late 1930's and early 1940's.
The problem was that those early pin and marble games were
predominately of chance, and the City of Los Angeles refused
to recognize flipper games as a modern, benign species.
Several of my clients didn't quite see i t that way, so I
commenced a declaratory/injunctive r e lief action against
the City in 1970.
Four years later we received our justice, with the likeli-
hood of flipper game operation being lawful throughout
California.
Best personal regards.
______ _
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. WOLFE
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