Found via Poe News:
Jurors in Tampa to decide; What is obscene?
“A federal jury will soon have the unusual task of deciding what Tampa Bay residents consider obscene, and whether a Hollywood producer’s violent pornographic films are unacceptable to the local community.
They may spend an entire day watching porn to do it.
A judge will rule today on just how much pornography will be displayed in the courtroom as prosecutors present evidence against Paul F. Little of Altadena, Calif., and his company, MaxWorld Entertainment Inc. ”
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Some thoughts. I’m annoyed that the “Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section” is one section. These two should be two separate departments. Yes child exploitation can be obscene but often obscenity cases have nothing to do with children despite the article pointing out that “Adult actresses in the films are often made up to look like young girls”.
One part of the Miller test that rubs me the wrong way is the part where the work must “be patently offensive by community standards”. Cases like this can purposely be tried in more sexually conservative areas to assure an obscenity convention.
Could this be the case with the Hardcore Trial? Little “is on trial in the Middle District of Florida because prosecutors purchased the DVDs from Little’s Internet Web site and had them sent to a Tampa post office box.” Certainly convenient from the prosecution’s standpoint.
Posted by Vixen as News, Sex Workers at 11:29 PM CDT