Case Name: The State of Ohio, Appellee, v. Griffith, Appellant
Court: Supreme Court of Ohio
Jurisdiction: Ohio
Decision Date: 1963-05-29
Citations: 174 Ohio St. 553
Docket Number: No. 37805
Parties: The State of Ohio, Appellee, v. Griffith, Appellant.
Judges: Taft, C. J., Zimmerman, Matthias, O’Neill, Griffith, Herbert and Gibson, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Ohio State Reports, New Service
Volume: 174
Pages: 553–554

Head Matter:
The State of Ohio, Appellee, v. Griffith, Appellant.
(No. 37805
Decided May 29, 1963.)
Mr. Russell Leach, city attorney, and Mr. Bernard T. Chupha, for appellee.
Mr. George E. Tyach, for appellant;

Opinion:
Per Curiam.
Section 2905.40, Revised Code, purporting to impose an absolute criminal liability upon one who operates or permits another to operate on his premises a picture machine exhibiting proscribed pictures without reference to guilty knowledge (scienter) or guilty purpose (mens rea) on the part of the accused is unconstitutional. City of Cincinnati v. Marshall, 172 Ohio St., 280; Smith v. California, 361 U. S., 147; State v. Warth, 173 Ohio St., 15; State v. Jacobellis, 173 Ohio St., 22.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed.
Judgment reversed.
Taft, C. J., Zimmerman, Matthias, O'Neill, Griffith, Herbert and Gibson, JJ., concur.