Court Opinion

ID: 9760567
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 01:00:49.566146+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:13.762048
License: Public Domain

John I. Purtle, Justice, dissenting. I respectfully dissent. It is my opinion that Ark. Stat. Ann. § 41-3585.1—.2 (Supp. 1985) is void for vagueness and amounts to the denial of due process and free speech. The statute does not define “obscene” in such terms as to give fair notice that sale or distribution of such materials is a violation of state law. The definition of “obscenity” has escaped definition; “obscenity” remains a rather amorphous concept until it is “defined” by a conviction. Neither the statute nor our decisions have been able to define “obscenity” until after an arrest and conviction, and then it’s too late. Our present statute is an obvious attempt to codify the definition found in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973). However, the statute failed in its attempt; instead the legislature enacted a statute that is so vague and uncertain as to practically require enforcement officers to act in a discriminatory and arbitrary manner in selecting arrestees. For example, § 41-3585.1(4)(b) describes “obscene material” as material which: “Taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest of the average person, applying contemporary statewide standards . . .” The Miller opinion states that: The basic guidelines for the trier of facts must be: (a) whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interests; (b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. Obviously even the drafters of the statute here in question did not know the meaning of the word “prurient.” As used in the statute, the average person has a “prurient” interest. The Miller case did not so state. Admittedly, I do not know the meaning of the word “prurient” and certainly cannot tell from our statute what it means. The average person should be able to read a law and understand what is prohibited before the act is done. Certainly this Court should be able to determine what will violate the law before reviewing the evidence. We cannot take this statute and give the words their plain meaning and define exactly what conduct is permitted and what conduct is prohibited. The majority opinion takes several quotes from Brockett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc. 472 U.S. 491 (1985) as the basis for the decision. The first is an attempt to explain the holding in Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476 (1957), which defines prurient as “i.e., material having a tendency to excite lustful thoughts.” The opinion then cites Webster’s New International Dictionary indicating that “prurient” means: “Itching, longing, uneasy with desire or longing; of persons having itching, morbid, or lascivious longings; of desire, curiosity, or propensity, lewd . . .” The best quote of all is: “pruriency is defined, in pertinent part as follows: ‘. . . quality of being prurient . . . ’ ” It seems to me that the statute and the precedent cited by the majority opinion are attempts to curb the thoughts of the average person. The first thing wrong with the statute is that it attempts to legislate statewide standards on obscenity and even goes so far as to prohibit cities from enacting contrary laws. Neither Miller nor any other case attempts to set statewide standards. Furthermore, Miller required contemporary community standards. The Arkansas statute makes no attempt to define “contemporary” or “community” standards, but instead attempts to set “statewide” contemporary standards anchored on a 1973 opinion. The Arkansas statute is without doubt a laudable, but futile, attempt to control the sale and distribution of material which the average person in the state might consider indecent and immoral. However, instead of coming right out and stating what was prohibited in plain language, the legislature became entangled in a mass of conflicting statutes, opinions and ideas and enacted an impossible statute. There is a maxim that morals cannot be legislated. Neither can the minds of man be controlled. This attempt to do so must fail. Nudity, sex, lust, desire and related topics have been present as long as man has existed. All of them are normal to humans. Laws cannot extinguish the thoughts and desires of man. Traffic in obscenity cannot exist without willing customers. None of the material was shown publicly nor was any person required to view it. The majority quotes (4) (a) three or four times with a different meaning each time. The different meaning of words and acts is primarily what makes it near impossible to define an appropriate statute warning people of what will and will not be allowed. No statute that I have read has defined “obscenity” in such terms as to notify the average person of what acts will violate the law. The definitions of obscenity will be different in the opinion of everyone attempting to define it. The majority opinion is typified in the statement: “[I]t was not error for the trial judge to fail to require expert evidence that the materials were obscene when the materials themselves were placed in evidence.” What more proof is needed to reveal that this is a case of not knowing how to define it or what it is “until we see it.” The opinion goes on to state that the materials are the “best evidence of what they represent.” The opinion is bottomed upon the statement: “Here the state met its burden of proof of obscenity by introducing the materials themselves” (emphasis added). The opinion continues by stating: “No separate proof of community standards was necessary.” This completely ignores the Miller holding and is in fact contrary to the criteria stated in Miller. The net effect of the majority opinion is that “obscenity” cannot be defined but becomes apparent when the materials are presented to a trier of fact or to an appellate court. As the opinion states, the appellant was not required to prove that the materials were not obscene, but neither was the state required to prove the materials were obscene. To be valid a statute must provide fair notice to dealers of newspapers, magazines, movies, video tapes and other methods for the exchange of ideas, that sale or distribution of such materials may bring prosecution. Justice Brennan, dissenting in Miller, stated: “[A]fter sixteen years of experimentation and debate I am reluctantly forced to the conclusion that none of the available formulas [on obscenity], including the one announced today, can reduce the vagueness to a tolerable level . . .” I think the trial court here wrongly refused to allow proof of community standards. Availability of the same materials at many other retail and wholesale outlets in Pulaski County was, in my opinion, relevant and material. Acceptability is one criterion to be considered when trying to determine what constitutes obscenity. No reason is given for selection of the defendant for prosecution for doing that which others may continue to do. Apparently the legislature intended to “set a net large enough to catch all possible offenders” and leave it to the prosecuting authorities to step in and select those who will be detained and punished. If this was the intent of the legislature, then it has been successful. The statute as it is written leaves the police and prosecutor in a position to proceed discriminately against persons or groups who incur disfavor. What is obscene to one policeman or prosecutor may not be obscene to another policeman or prosecutor. We should not invite arbitrary or erratic law enforcement. The trial court refused to allow evidence of tolerance in the community unless it was first shown that such materials were acceptable. Tolerance is quite different from acceptance, which connotes approval. The Court thus created an impossible and improper burden for the appellant. Censorship violates the mandates of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. There are limitations to the guarantee of free speech. However, such limitations are not relevant to the present situation. It is my opinion that Ark. Stat. Ann. § 41-3585.1—.2 is an impermissible intrusion into the right of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. However offensive the materials may be to some people, they may be completely acceptable to others. Since the trial court prohibited proof of tolerance in the community, we do not know how acceptable such materials may be to the community. Therefore, even if the statute is constitutional, the case should be remanded to allow proof on the question of whether these materials are considered obscene by state or community standards.