Norcisa v. Board of Selectmen of Provincetown

368 Mass. 161, 330 N.E. 2d 830 (1975)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
N
From our private database of 46,200+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Norcisa v. Board of Selectmen of Provincetown

Massachusetts Supreme Court
368 Mass. 161, 330 N.E. 2d 830 (1975)

JL
Play video

Facts

In 1973, Pamela Norcisa (plaintiff) opened a retail clothing business in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Norcisa was told by an agent for the Board of Selectmen of Provincetown (Board) (defendant) that she would not be permitted to own and operate her business unless she paid a license fee of $200 to Provincetown, furnished a bond of $500 to Massachusetts, and applied for a Transient Vendor’s License from both Provincetown and Massachusetts. Norcisa opened her business without a license. A criminal complaint was issued, charging Norcisa with violating local law. Norcisa brought suit against the Board, seeking an injunction against the pending criminal prosecution. The trial court issued injunctive and declaratory relief. The Board appealed. In support of the trial court’s decision, Norcisa argued that the local law was unconstitutional or, if properly construed, would not apply to her because she was not and had never been a transient vendor.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Quirico, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 790,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 790,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 790,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,200 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Remedies

Key Terms