NCJ Number
97380
Date Published
1985
Length
128 pages
Annotation
This practical guide to obscenity prosecutions reviews the criminal laws pertinent to the distribution of pornography to adults and discusses pretrial and trial procedures and tactics in such cases.
Abstract
A discussion of the development of American obscenity law focuses on U.S. Supreme Court decisions, particularly the 1973 decision in Miller v. California. The crucial elements of the decision -- appeal to prurient interest, patent offensiveness, and lack of serious value -- are examined in detail. Guidelines on pretrial matters cover investigation, search and seizure, arrest, charging, and plea bargaining. Advice on the trial itself covers the selection of the jury, the opening statement, evidentiary issues, the types of defenses and defense tactics likely to be used, and the summation. The jury instructions, the verdict, sentencing, and appeals are also outlined. Appendixes present sample jury instructions and a search warrant as well as transcripts of a direct examination of a prosecutorial expert and a cross-examination of a defense expert from Georgia obscenity cases. An index and a table of cases are supplied.