The U.S. Supreme Court has indicated that city licensing laws must contain some procedural safeguards in order to guard against censorship. In its 1990 decision FW/PBS v. City of Dallas, the high court said that a licensing scheme for adult businesses must contain two such safeguards:

• The decision to issue or deny a license must be made within a “specified and reasonable time period.”
• “There must be the possibility of prompt judicial review in the event that the license is erroneously denied.”