ADV3352 Final Exam Review Chapter 13 Regulation of Obscene and Other Erotic Material Law of Obscenity Obscenity Miller Test o o Problems o o o o Narrow class of material defined by the supreme court in the Legally obscene material is not protected by 1st amendment can be regulated by the gov AKA hardcore porn Miller Test leaves flexibility room for interpretation incorporates variable community standards for making decisions Increase in technologies make adult content easily accessible to children Pornography objectifies women harms family values Many feel it is a waste of gov resources to prosecute obscenity cases may be sexually graphic Adult material sexually explicit Indecent Material material Protected by 1st amendment BUT can be banned from children over the air broadcasting No real legal significance but is used as a broad term to Pornography describe anything meaning indecent obscene Defining Obscenity Pre 1957 Hicklin rule No prosecution if material had slightest redeeming value 1957 1973 Roth Memoirs Test 1 Theme of material appeals to prurient unwholesome interest in sex 2 Court finds material to be patently offensive because it affronts offends contemporary community standards 3 Must be utterly without redeeming social value Post 1973 Miller Test 1st time majority of court agreed on def of Obscenity 1 Average person w contemporary community standards finds work to appeal to prurient interest Local Community Standards state standards Prurient interest shameful interest in nudity sex excretion Average person jury 2 Work depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way 3 Work lacks serious literary artistic political scientific value Could someone find value o Variable Obscenity Standards Legal to ban sale of material to juveniles which is legal for adults to obtain o o o o Contemporary Obscenity Law Controlling Obscenity o o o Laws have been un affective prohibit access Child Pornography NOT protected by 1st amendment merely possession incrimination Virtual computer generated images protected US v Hotaling Morphed altered images of real children Not protected o o If case goes to trial determine obscenity via Miller test then determine Scientor Guilty knowledge defendant aware of contents before publishing Postal Censorship US postal service diligently polices obscenity 1873 Comstock Act Illegal to send obscenity through mail When Erotic material is intercepted by a postmaster the community standards of where the material was seized applies o Film Censorship Has become infrequent Adult theaters extinct theaters rarely show NC 17 films Regulation of Non obscene Erotic Material o Sexually oriented businesses SOB s subject to two types of law cluster red light district or disperse away from Zoning regulations schools residential areas Expressive conduct regulations Some clubs regulate minimum clothing distance lighting requirements Reasonable regulations prevent sexual conduct contact o Attacks on the Arts and Pop culture Forms of American pop culture often challenged for sexual content o Erotic materials in cyber space 1996 Communications Decency Act Made it a crime to transmit allow indecent material to be transmitted over public networks which minors can access 1998 Child Online Protection Act Prohibits websites from transmitting material to minors that is harmful to them Lower courts found this unconstitutional 2001 Children s Internet Protection Act Required public libraries to install anti porn filters in order to continue receiving government aide funding o Ruled unconstitutional 2006 overturned libraries can restrict children s access to porn
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