Opinion ID: 1350669
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: obscenity under the state's free speech guaranty

Text: The United States Supreme Court has consistently held that state courts may interpret their own constitutions to be more protective of individual rights than the federal constitution. See, e.g., Pruneyard Shopping Ctr. v. Robins, 447 U.S. 74, 81, 64 L.Ed.2d 741, 100 S.Ct. 2035 (1980); Oregon v. Hass, 420 U.S. 714, 719 & n. 4, 43 L.Ed.2d 570, 95 S.Ct. 1215 (1975). This court has frequently accepted that responsibility. See, e.g., State v. Chrisman, 100 Wn.2d 814, 817, 676 P.2d 419 (1984) (search and seizure); State v. Fain, 94 Wn.2d 387, 392, 617 P.2d 720 (1980) (cruel punishment); Alderwood Assocs. v. Washington Envtl. Coun., supra (free speech); see generally Utter, Freedom and Diversity in a Federal System: Perspectives on State Constitutions and the Washington Declaration of Rights, 7 U. Puget Sound L. Rev. 491 (1984). The State argues that the criteria enunciated by this court in State v. Gunwall, 106 Wn.2d 54, 58-59, 720 P.2d 808 (1986) forecloses the application of independent state constitutional analysis to matters of obscenity. The State reasons that Washington has never developed an independent tradition of protecting obscene speech: obscene or indecent literature was criminalized both immediately prior to and after the ratification of the state constitution. See Laws of 1885, p. 122-23; Laws of 1891, ch. 69, § 24. The State further argues that reliance on federal obscenity doctrine is appropriate because this court has never held that Const. art. 1, § 5 extends broader protection to obscenity than does the First Amendment. For example, Coe rejected the idea that the state constitution's absolute prohibition of prior restraints should extend to traditionally unprotected speech. See Coe, at 374-75 (citing Fine Arts Guild, Inc. v. Seattle, supra ). We agree that Const. art. 1, § 5 should not be interpreted to afford greater protection to obscenity than that afforded by the federal courts under First Amendment analysis. We hold that if a publication meets the federal test as an obscenity, it may be banned under both the state and federal constitutions. The magazine in Reece clearly is obscene under that test. The trial court in Reece correctly instructed the jury that to convict defendants it must find Chains and Whips was lewd matter and defined lewd matter as synonymous with obscene matter and means any matter: (A) Which the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find, when considered as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; and (B) Which the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find explicitly depicts or describes patently offensive representations or descriptions of: Violent or destructive sexual acts, including but not limited to human or animal mutilation, dismemberment, rape, or torture; and (C) Which, when considered as a whole, and in the context in which it is used, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. Instruction 14, Supplemental Clerk's Papers, at 16. In Reece, the jury found the defendants guilty as charged. We are required as a reviewing court to make an independent constitutional determination of the obscenity of the publication in question here. Tacoma v. Mushkin, 12 Wn. App. 56, 59, 527 P.2d 1393 (1974) (citing Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184, 12 L.Ed.2d 793, 84 S.Ct. 1676 (1964)). After a review of the publication Chains and Whips, we conclude that the jury was correct in finding that by community standards the publication appeals to the prurient interest, is offensive by community standards, and lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. The federal definition of obscenity spelled out in the 3-part Miller test is the constitutional threshold below which the states may not go. The Washington courts have long allowed the Legislature to struggle with the attempt to regulate obscenity so long as the Roth-Miller test was met. State v. Regan, 97 Wn.2d 47, 640 P.2d 725 (1982). This task is one traditionally left to the Legislature. Prior Washington case law has consistently indicated that obscenity may be prohibited by criminal statute. State v. Regan, supra ; State v. Hull, 86 Wn.2d 527, 546 P.2d 912 (1976); State v. J-R Distribs., Inc., 82 Wn.2d 584, 512 P.2d 1049 (1973); Fine Arts Guild, Inc. v. Seattle, supra ; State v. Holedger, 15 Wash. 443, 46 P. 652 (1896). In State v. Coe, supra , this court stated, [W]e have expressly rejected an absolute bar against prior restraints on speech which is not constitutionally protected. Seattle v. Bittner, [81 Wn.2d 747, 757, 505 P.2d 126 (1973)] (obscenity); Fine Arts Guild, Inc. v. Seattle, 74 Wn.2d 503, 512-13, 445 P.2d 602 (1968) (obscenity). Coe, 101 Wn.2d at 375. [3, 4] The Washington Supreme Court has in the past and will continue in the future to accept its duty to interpret its constitution to be more protective of individual rights than the federal constitution. We have often independently evaluated our state constitution and have concluded that it should be applied to confer greater civil liberties than its federal counterpart when the reasoning and evidence indicate such was intended and is necessary.  (Italics ours.) Alderwood, at 238. The Gunwall case has afforded guidance on when our constitution should be interpreted to extend broader rights than the federal constitution. In State v. Gunwall, supra , we set out six nonexclusive criteria to be used in determining the scope of protection provided by state constitutional provisions: (1) the language of the state constitution; (2) significant differences in language between parallel provisions of the federal and state constitutions; (3) constitutional history; (4) preexisting state law; (5) structural differences between the federal and state constitutions, and (6) whether the subject matter is of particular state or local concern. The proper inquiry under Gunwall is not to ask whether state constitutional analysis is necessary, but to ask whether on a given subject matter the Washington constitutional provision should afford greater protection than the minimum protection afforded by the federal constitution. There is no presumption of adherence to federal constitutional analysis. The question to be asked here is not whether the concept of free speech is interpreted more broadly under the state constitution than under the federal constitution. This court has already answered this question in the affirmative. Bering v. Share, supra ; State v. Coe, supra . The question at issue here is whether obscenity is to be afforded broader protection under the state constitution than under the federal constitution. The first two criteria of Gunwall direct the court's attention to the language of the state constitution and the parallel provision of the federal constitution. The language of article 1, section 5 is different from the language of the First Amendment. Const. art. 1, § 5 provides: Every person may freely speak, write, and publish on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right. The First Amendment provides, in relevant part: Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ... While this will always be the beginning of state constitutional analysis, it is not the end. If it were, the other criteria enunciated in Gunwall would be superfluous. As Justice Utter has pointed out, there are differences between statutory and constitutional construction. [A] constitution is an expression of the people's will and depends for its validity on their ratification. Thus, the `common and ordinary meaning' in which the constitution's words must be construed is the meaning they would have had to the vast majority of ordinary voters. Utter, Freedom and Diversity in a Federal System: Perspectives on State Constitutions and the Washington Declaration of Rights, 7 U. Puget Sound L. Rev. 491, 510 (1984). It is therefore relevant to note that obscenity was criminalized both immediately prior to and after the ratification of the state constitution. See Laws of 1885, p. 122-23; Laws of 1891, ch. 69, § 24, p. 126. The third Gunwall factor directs the court to ask whether the [s]tate constitutional and common law history reflect an intention to confer greater protection from the state government than has been afforded by the federal constitution. Gunwall, at 61. Historical analysis is relevant though not necessarily dispositive in a question of state constitutional interpretation. The court should be free to consider current values and conditions as one factor in interpreting the state constitution. See Utter, 7 U. Puget Sound L. Rev. at 524. However, on the question of protection for obscene material, there is no clear conflict between Washington common law history and current values and conditions. Obscenity has never enjoyed constitutional protection in Washington and the court does not perceive current conditions to warrant such protection. Gunwall also directs the court's attention to preexisting state law which can thus help to define the scope of a constitutional right later established. Gunwall, at 62. As noted above, obscenity was criminalized prior to the ratification of article 1, section 5 of the Washington State Constitution. Neither statutory law nor case law in Washington have ever afforded protection for obscene speech. See, e.g., State v. Regan, supra ; State v. Hull, supra ; State v. J-R Distribs., Inc., supra ; Fine Arts Guild, Inc. v. Seattle, supra . Early legislative construction of a provision should be given great weight, especially if it extended over a long period of time. Similarly, early constructions by the courts are relevant to the intent of various constitutional provisions. Utter, 7 U. Puget Sound L. Rev. at 521. Other state supreme courts, in construing their state constitutional free speech guaranties which are very similar to the wording of article 1, section 5, have refused to extend state constitutional protection to obscene expression that under the federal test does not enjoy constitutional protection. Portland v. Jacobsky, 496 A.2d 646 (Me. 1985); People v. Neumayer, 405 Mich. 341, 275 N.W.2d 230 (1979). Neumayer recognized that the language of article 1, section 5 of the Michigan Constitution (virtually identical to article 1, section 5 of the Washington Constitution) in certain instances may confer broader protection upon certain types of expression than the First Amendment. However, that court rejected the notion that obscenity is protected by the state constitution. The fifth Gunwall criteria considers the difference in the structure between the federal and state constitutions, and notes that the federal constitution is a grant of enumerated powers, while the state constitution acts as a limitation on the otherwise plenary powers of state government. Gunwall, at 62. This distinction simply reinforces the responsibility the Washington court has to engage in independent state analysis and afford broader protection when necessary. Often state and federal constitutions have conferred the same protection. Alderwood Assocs. v. Washington Envtl. Coun., 96 Wn.2d 230, 238, 635 P.2d 108 (1981) (citing Young v. Konz, 91 Wn.2d 532, 588 P.2d 1360 (1979); Hillside Comm'ty Church, Inc. v. Tacoma, 76 Wn.2d 63, 455 P.2d 350 (1969)). However, there is no presumption that the minimum degree of protection established by the federal constitution is the degree of protection to be afforded under the Washington Constitution. Gunwall also advises the court to ask whether the matter is of particular state or local interest or whether there is a need for national uniformity. Gunwall, at 67. Although there is some interest in uniformity because of interstate traffic in publications, obscenity is largely a local concern. The local nature, however, does not militate in the area of obscenity for enhanced state constitutional protection for obscene material. Prior reliance on federal precedent and federal constitutional provisions does not preclude this court from taking a more expansive view under the Washington Constitution, especially where the United States Supreme Court determines to limit federal guaranties in a manner inconsistent with our prior pronouncements. State v. Jackson, 102 Wn.2d 432, 439, 688 P.2d 136 (1984). However, it does not follow, especially where the federal protections have not been curtailed, that we will automatically cease to follow our own precedents merely because they have tracked the federal precedents. Gunwall recognized that [t]he opinions of the Supreme Court, while not controlling on state courts construing their own constitutions, are nevertheless important guides on the subjects which they squarely address. Gunwall, at 61 (quoting State v. Hunt, 91 N.J. 338, 450 A.2d 952 (1982) (Handler, J., concurring)). Obviously, this court need not construe article 1, section 5 as the federal courts have construed the First Amendment. However, this court may find federal reasoning persuasive even while construing our own constitution. The language of article 1, section 5 is significantly different from the First Amendment and often will support a broader protection for free speech in Washington. The narrow inquiry in this case is whether obscene speech ( see State v. Regan, 97 Wn.2d 47, 640 P.2d 725 (1982)) deserves broader protection under article 1, section 5 than it is afforded by the federal case law construing the First Amendment. After consideration of the Gunwall criteria and in light of state constitutional history and preexisting state law, we conclude that in the limited area of obscene speech, article 1, section 5 does not afford broader protection. One final constitutional argument is raised by defendants, namely, that RCW 9.68.140 and 7.48A.010 are void ab initio because they were enacted pursuant to an invalid emergency clause in contravention of the guaranteed right to referendum under Const. art. 2, § 1. This argument was recently addressed and rejected in State v. Hayes, 108 Wn.2d 344, 738 P.2d 276 (1987).