Source: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/414/955.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 19:33:18+00:00

Document:
Petition for writ of certiorari granted, judgment vacated and case remanded to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama for further consideration in light of Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973); Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton, 413 U.S. 49 , 93 S. Ct. 2628 (1973); Kaplan v. California, 413 U.S. 115 , 93 S. Ct. 2680 (1973); United States v. 12 200-ft. Reels of Super 8 mm. Film, 413 U.S. 123 (1973); United States v. Orito, 413 U.S. 139 [414 U.S. 955 , 956] (1973); Heller v. New York, 413 U.S. 483 ( 1973); Roaden v. Kentucky, 413 U.S. 496 ( 1973); and Alexander v. Virginia, 413 U.S. 836 (1973).
If the magazines in question were truly 'patently offensive' to the local community, there would be no need to ban them through the exercise of police power; they would be banned by the marketplace which provided no buyers for them. Thus it must be the case that some substantial portion of the public not only found them not offensive, but worthy of purchase. How can the bookseller or librarian be sure which of the publications on his shelves are offensive to the majority? Perhaps he will be safe if he sells only publications with a certified history of broad appeal, thus attempting to 'steer wide of the unlawful zone.' Yet there are many who deem some magazines offensive and even lingerie advertisements in the Sunday papers. A bookseller or a librarian can never know if some jury will find those views representative of the community. A movie exhibitor in Georgia has just found himself con- [414 U.S. 955 , 959] victed under that State's obscenity laws for showing a film which received much critical acclaim, and an Oscar nomination for the female lead. 5 We deal here with criminal prosecutions under which a man may lose his liberty. Our Constitution requires fair notice so that the law-abiding can conform their conduct to the requirements of the law.
It is my view that, 'at least in the absence of distribution to juveniles or obtrusive exposure to unconsenting adults, the First and Fourteenth Amendments [414 U.S. 955 , 961] prohibit the state and federal governments from attempting wholly to suppress sexually oriented materials on the basis of their allegedly 'obscene' contents.' Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton, 413 U.S. 49, 113 (1973). It is clear that, tested by that constitutional standard, 374(4) is constitutionally overbroad and therefore invalid on its face. For the reasons stated in my dissent in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, 47 (1973 ), I would therefore grant certiorari, vacate the judgment of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals and remand for further proceedings not inconsistent with my Paris Adult dissent. In that circumstance, I have no occasion to consider whether the other questions presented merit plenary review. See Heller v. New York, 413 U.S. 494, 495 d 745 (1973).
[ Footnote 1 ] Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104 , 108-109 (1972) (internal cites and quotes omitted). See also the cases cited id., at 108-109, nn. 3-5.
[ Footnote 2 ] Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476 ( 1957).
[ Footnote 3 ] Redrup v. New York, 386 U.S. 767 ( 1967). See the dissenting opinion of Mr. Justice Brennan in Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton, 413 U.S. 49 , 73, at 83 ( 1973).
[ Footnote 5 ] Jenkins v. The State, 230 Ga. 726, 199 S.E.2d 183 (1973). The movie, Carnal Knowledge, received an 'R', not an 'X' rating from the M. P. A. A. See No Evil, Time, July 16, 1973, at p. 73. The President of the Motion Picture Association of America, noting that the film is a 'serious work,' complained that the Court's standards have left motion picture producers 'in a no man's land.' What the Court Has Done to Movies, New York Times, August 17, 1973, at p. 15, col. 1.

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