LEGALST 39D Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Miller Test, Free Speech Coalition, William Rehnquist
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Roth v. u. s. (1957) first time the court sked to decide the issue of obscenity. Not within the area of constitutionally protected speech. But no constitutional definition of obscenity (cid:498)calculated to corrupt and debauch the minds and morals of the average person in the community(cid:499) Any test that turns on what is offensive to the community standards is too loose/ capricious/ destructive. Literature should not be suppressed merely because it offends the moral code of censor. Freedom of expression can be suppressed if it is so closely brigaded with illegal action. Stewart: i know it when i see it. Ginsberg charged with knowingly selling girlie magazine under 17. Held unanimously that the george obscenity statute that makes mere private possession of obscene material a crime is prohibited by the first amendment. White: states can have greater leeway in regulation of pornographic depictions of doctrine.