Antiobscenity Legislation: Hearings Before Subcommittee No. 3 of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Ninety-first Congress, on H.R. 5171, 11009, 11031 & 11032, and Related Measures to Restrict the Dissemination of Sexually Oriented Materials, Sept. 25, Oct. 1, 9, 23, 28; Nov. 5, 12, 13; Dec. 10, 17, 1969; Jan. 28; March 5, 16, & April 16, 1970

Front Cover

From inside the book

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 406 - But implicit in the history of the First ' Amendment is the rejection of obscenity as utterly without redeeming social importance.
Page 169 - Under this definition, as elaborated in subsequent cases, three elements must coalesce: it must be established that (a) the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest in sex; (b) the material is patently offensive because it affronts contemporary community standards relating to the description or representation of sexual matters; and (c) the material is utterly without redeeming social value.
Page 401 - Hicklin. [L]ater decisions have rejected it and substituted this test: whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest.
Page 295 - Obscene" means that to the average person, applying contemporary standards, the predominant appeal of the matter, taken as a whole, is to prurient interest, ie, a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex or excretion, which goes substantially beyond customary limits of candor in description or representation of such matters and is matter which is utterly without redeeming social importance.
Page 401 - These include the lewd and obscene, the profane, the libelous, and the insulting or 'fighting' words— those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. It has been well observed that such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality.
Page 520 - Service, or takes or receives therefrom, any such matter or thing, or knowingly causes to be delivered by mail according to the direction thereon, or at the place at which it is directed to be delivered by the person to whom it is addressed, any such matter or thing, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
Page 146 - There are certain well-defined and narrowly limited classes of speech, the prevention and punishment of which have never been thought to raise any Constitutional problem. These include the lewd and obscene, the profane, the libelous, and the insulting or 'fighting' words — those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace.
Page 494 - Whoever violates any of the provisions of this subsection shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both. (d) The term "person" as used in this section means an individual partnership, corporation or association.
Page 254 - The protection given speech and press was fashioned to assure unfettered interchange of ideas for the bringing about of political and social changes desired by the people,
Page 1205 - ... bureau, agency, board, commission, office, independent establishment, or instrumentality information suggestions, estimates, and statistics for the purpose of this Act; and each such department, bureau, agency, board, commission, office, establishment, or instrumentality is authorized and directed to furnish such information, suggestions, estimates, and statistics directly to the Commission, upon request made by the Chairman or Vice Chairman.

Bibliographic information