Court Opinion

ID: 9452701
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 17:49:15.20318+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:33:19.508316
License: Public Domain

ALBERT V. BRYAN, Circuit Judge
(dissenting):
The magazines which the appellant insists should not be delayed, by the present appeal, in reaching the public are composed exclusively of pictures of nude women. Printed in Europe, they are offered for American consumption at a profit to the producer and the importer. They do not purport to be reproductions of works of art. If the material consisted of news or commercial reports, scientific data or discovery, expressions of political, religious or non-religious advocacy, or some novel ephemeral or evanescent product or information, I could grasp the argument of the urgency for dispatch in its dissemination- — to prevent stultification of the First Amendment’s commands of freedom of speech and press through a sluggish censorship. This, of course, is of primary concern. Cf. Freedman v. State of Maryland, 380 U.S. 51, 59, 85 S.Ct. 734, 13 L.Ed.2d 649 (1965).
My point is that the admitted character of the instant publications is itself proof that the time required for appeal does not in this instance threaten First Amendment rights. Moreover, the expedition sought would effectually subvert or circumvent the will of Congress.
Appellant’s argument, now sustained by the Court, is that adherence to the Congressional pattern, 19 U.S.C. § 1305, impairs its investment in the magazines. It will, it says, retard its competition with others who are spreading similar stuff throughout the United States. The subject of the pictures has not so far been thought perishable or in danger of obsolescence. Nor are we shown that its style or fashion may become outmoded or less alluring in the passage of time.
The act of Congress, 19 U.S.C. § 1305, outlines a procedure for the orderly determination of what, inter alia, is or is not obscene. The constitutionality of the legislation generally was established here in United States v. Claimant (Central Magazine Sales, Ltd.) etc. 373 F.2d 633 (4 Cir. Feb. 16, 1967). It provides for an appeal either by the United States or the importer. This means that the decision of the trial court shall not be conclusive of the inquiry — a not uncommon statutory scheme. Indeed, the opposite would be unusual. Had the trial court found obscenity, appellant would hardly consent to immediate destruction of all but a few copies pending review. Actually, appellant’s grievance is that the Government enjoys the same right of appeal as the appellant.
Obviously, the aim of Congress was to prevent the distribution of questionable material until a complete resolution of the doubt had been obtained. At the same time it was alert to the dangers of arbitrary or dilatory censorship in administration. The statute was enacted in the hope of avoiding both. For a summary of the legislative history, see United States v. One Book Entitled “The Adv. of Father Silas”, 249 F.Supp. 911 (S.D.N.Y.1966). No unconstitutional delay in the utilization of the statute is manifest in this case, even without consideration of the nature of the import. I do not see any factual premise upon which the majority predicates its annulment of the judicial process contemplated by the statute. Elsewhere the procedure has been declared free of constitutional defect. United States v. One Carton Positive Motion Picture Film, 247 F.Supp. 450, 459 (S.D.N.Y.1965), aff. on this point 367 F.2d 889, 898-902 (2 Cir. 1966).
The statute’s reference to an adjudication in the District Court does not indicate a puipose to give it finality in any sense that would effectively preclude review. Adjudication connotes an appeal as well.
The District Court’s order would turn loose about 1500 copies of the magazines, retaining but a few as a sample to keep this litigation alive for appeal pui-poses. *808Parenthetically, I am not sure this procedure does not destroy the viability of the case by emptying it of the vital element of actual controversy. In any event, to dump these magazines on the country, while holding a few in the hope of preserving the case from mootness, is to mock the statute with lip-homage — -and all to save the appellant from hurt by competition in this dirty business. An appellate decision in this case will not set guidelines for the future; it will be simply an ad hoc ruling. It is authoritatively recognized that there can be no universally applied standard of measurement for obsceneness. See Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476, 491, 77 S.Ct. 1304, 1 L.Ed.2d 1498 (1957); Ginzburg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463, 480-481, 86 S.Ct. 942, 16 L.Ed.2d 31 (1966) (Black, J., dissenting). This is emphasized by the allowance of a jury in the trial of criminal obscenity and libels for forfeiture, confiscation or destruction of the literature. 19 U.S.C. § 1305; Roth and Ginzburg, supra, op. cit.
It is no answer that subsequently the dealers in this commodity may be prosecuted by the States if the magazines are found obscene. Congress did not intend for the Federal courts to abdicate their responsibilities under the statute or to provide grist for the criminal courts. It wanted to dam the inflow. The procedure now approved by the Court has the effect of stamping the magazines with a judicial imprimatur. Though provisional, it is meanwhile certainly no less a serious obstruction to State prosecution.
Nor is it justified by the knowledge that Customs might have released the material before it reached the courts. This is not an unusual possibility. Often a Government agency or officer must exercise a judgment to become effective without review by the courts, even though a contrary decision might have been rendered in the courts. Prime examples are the determinations by Internal Revenue of no tax liability. It is simply another of many instances where resolutions must of practical necessity be left to executive discretion. However, once it has been taken to the courts, Congress certainly may constitutionally exact a full canvass of the doubtful issue. It must be remembered that only questionable magazines, books, etc. are in practice subjected to the delay of full-dress trial and appeal.
I would continue the stay upon the magazines’ release until a final adjudication is made of the determinative inquiry. Frequently, bail is denied a convict until the termination of an appeal by the Government to the Supreme Court from an intermediate reversal of his conviction. I think doubtful literature is entitled to no greater consideration during an appeal from the District Court to the Court of Appeals. If the appellant here is to deal in merchandise of uncertain decency, it is not puritanical to require it to await a final decision. The Government, too, is entitled to its day in court.