A Tampa federal jury that watched more than eight hours of graphic and violent pornography in court decided that the movies violated community standards for decency.
Jurors on Thursday convicted the producer, Paul Little, of 10 counts of selling obscene material on the Internet and 10 counts of shipping it to Tampa in the mail.
The 51-year-old Little _ who calls himself Max Hardcore _ produced and starred in the films. They included scenes of urinating, vomiting and violently dominating women.
Little's attorneys argued that the films were covered by the First Amendment. They vowed to appeal.
Critics of obscenity cases question the federal government's decision to file these charges, especially considering the defining case law is 35 years old and was on shaky legal ground to begin with.
Federal obscenity law requires jurors to determine whether the material is patently offensive to the average person based on community standards. In the age of the Internet, however, a community's standards have become more difficult, if not impossible, to define.
No comments:
Post a Comment