Possession of Obscene Material and Infringement on
Civil Liberties
by Lillian Bonar
Essay: Possession of Obscene Material and Infringement on Civil Liberties
Pages: 11
Rating: 3 stars
Download Links:
• Possession of Obscene Material and Infringement on Civil Liberties.pdf
• Possession of Obscene Material and Infringement on Civil Liberties.doc
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Obscene is defined as “disgusting to the senses, repulsive”.
California law defines obscene matter as “taken as a whole, that the average person applying contemporary
statewide standards, appeals to the prurient interested, that taken as a whole depicts, or describes sexual conduct
in a patently offensive way and that taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value”.
Obscenity refers to the examination of books, periodicals, plays, films, television and radio programs, news reports,
and other communication media. The objectionable material may be considered immoral or obscene, heretical or
blasphemous, seditious or treasonable, or injurious to the national security.
The Bill of Rights, “First Amendment Prohibits Congress from establishing religion and restricting it free exercise,
also prohibits Congress from abridging freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and petition. So does the First
Amendment cover obscenity? The Supreme Court says No, it has declined to grant First Amendment protection to
utterances and writings that are obscene or defamatory. Justice Potter Stewart expressed the difficulty in his
famous utterance “I shall not today attempt to further define obscenity, but I know it when I see it”. The Judicial
system used the Miller test, a test that uses three questions to define obscenity. Question 1-does the average
person applying contemporary, community standards, believe that the dominant theme of the material, taken as a
whole, appeal to a prurient interest? Question 2-Is the material potently offensive? Question 3-Does the work,
taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value?
Under FCC rules and Fede...