Describe the history of obscenity laws in the U.S

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• In 1957, the U.S. Supreme Court heard two cases, one a federal case and the other a California state case- both addressing the definition of obscenity. The defendants argued that the federal and state statutes should be void for vagueness.
• The Court held the statutes constitutional and said that not every form of communication is untouchable under the First Amendment.
• Obscenity laws, designed to protect the morals of the people, are not constitutionally protected.
• The Court said that the test of obscenity is whether, to the average person applying contemporary community standards, the material appeals to prurient interest.
• From 1959-1973, the Court used a test for obscenity based on the social value of the material. If it had some redeeming value. it was not obscene. This became known as the "without any redeeming social value" test.
• This test and the definition of community under the 1957 cases caused much debate and many cases to be decided.
• In 1973 the Court redefined obscenity and defined community. It did away with the "without redeeming social value" test.
• The newer definition, is that any work that depicts or describes sexual conduct – that taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest in sex, that portrays sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and does not have serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value – is obscene.
• The court defined patently offensive in two parts: (1) representation or descriptions of ultimate sexual acts, normal, perverted, actual, or simulated; (2) representations or descriptions of masturbation, excretory functions, and lewd exhibition of the genitals.
• As to community, the Court recognized the differences from place to place and was unwilling to impose uniformity. It said that each state is different and that states could set the standard.
• In later cases, the Court said that only hard-core pornography is obscene.
• Child pornography has been an explosive problem and is usually punished under that title rather than the generic term of obscenity. Child pornography is prohibited in all jurisdictions.