1 / 8

Limits to Freedom of Speech

Sup. Limits to Freedom of Speech. Obscenity. What is obscenity ?. Anything that treats sex or nudity… in an offensive or lewd* manner violates recognized standards of decency lacks serious literary, educational, political or scientific value. *Crude of offensive in a sexual way.

myrrh
Download Presentation

Limits to Freedom of Speech

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Sup. Limits to Freedom of Speech Obscenity

  2. What is obscenity? • Anything that treats sex or nudity… • in an offensive or lewd* manner • violates recognized standards of decency • lacks serious literary, educational, political or scientific value. *Crude of offensive in a sexual way.

  3. SCOTUS Issues with Obscenity • SCOTUS has had great difficulty defining “obscenity” • Justice Potter Stewart: I can’t define it, “but I know it when I see it.” • 1957: SCOTUS ruled obscenity not protected by First Amendment • 1973: SCOTUS develops 3-part test to determine whether an expression is obscene

  4. 3-Part Test • Would the AVERAGE person applying CURRENT community standards find that the material appeals to an unwholesome or unusual interest in sex? • Does the work depict or describe, in a clearly offensive way, sexual conduct specifically outlawed by applicable state law? • Does the work, taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value?

  5. Applying the Standards… • Is it obscene? • Pictures of nudity in an anatomy textbook • Michelangelo’s “David” statue • Playboy magazine • Internet pornography • Video of a woman giving birth for a health class • Fifty Shades of Gray • National Geographic photos of topless African women • NudeSnapchat • Strip clubs • Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl

  6. New Strategies to Deal with Obscenity • Ban all pornographic works that degrade or depict sexual violence towards women. • Restrict adult bookstores and movie theaters to special zones or ban them from certain neighborhoods • Laws against child pornography

  7. Stone Park, IL • Historically many adult entertainment bookstores, strip clubs • Local ordinance passed requiring 1,000 foot buffer zone between adult entertainment businesses and schools, parks, churches, and residential areas

More Related