The ACLU here represented the Welfar Education and Legal Assistance Center, Inc. ("WELAC"), a nonprofit, and advocated for their "fundamental constitutional right to peaceably distribute welfare related materials in the welfare waiting rooms of the County of Santa Cruz Department of Social Services." The defendant is the Board of Supervisors, which is responsible for administering Santa Cruz county's state and local social services programs. WELAC, which was organized in 1972 for the sole purpose of providing assistance and representation to welfare applicants and recipients "in administrative and legal actions involving the County and State Departments of Social Welfare."

On August 8, 1978, the defendant passed a resolution restricting the types of materials distributed in Social Service waiting rooms to those "printed by the County and approved by the County." Despite the protests of Board member Gary Patton, who understood that this resolution restricted free speech within County buildings, the resolution went into effect later that same year. A WELAC representative hoped to distribute a pamphlet titled "Do Welfare Recipients Have Constitutional Rights?" and was denied. In their complaint, the ACLU argued that the resolution and policy "violates Article 1, Sections 2 and 3 of the Constitution of the State of California and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution as they create an unconstitutional prior restraint on the excercise by the Plaintiff of the press and speech rights set out therein." They also argued that the resolutions limits the constitutionally protected right to freedom of expression, as stated in 42 U.S.C. 1983. They also sought attorney's fees.

The court agreed with the ACLU that the policy and resolution violated Welfare applicants and recipients constitutional rights. The decision regarding attorney's fees is unknown.