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jimthefiend · 12-31-2003, 10:10 AM

In 1996, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the case of United States v. Thomas, 74 F.3d 701 (6th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 820 (1996), was presented with the issue of defining "community" in order to determine whether materials that had been transported over the Internet were obscene.

Defendants, a husband and wife, operated a computer bulletin board system (BBS) from their home in California. A postal inspector in Tennessee became a member of their service and subsequently received images by means of a computer and by mail. These materials depicted a wide variety of sexual conduct, including bestiality, torture and excretory fetishism. The couple was convicted by a jury in the Western District of Tennessee for violating federal obscenity laws [18 USC 1462 and 1465] in connection with their operation of their BBS.

The couple appealed the case to the Sixth Circuit. Their appeal was based on the assertion (among other grounds) that the trial venue was improper because it was in Memphis, where undercover Federal agents accessed and downloaded files, not in California; and it was unclear which community's standards should apply in determining whether the contents of a nationally-accessible BBS are obscene.

In upholding the convictions, the Court of Appeals rejected defendants' argument that the materials should have been judged by the community standards of California rather than Tennessee. The Court stated (in part): "Furthermore, it is well established that there is no constitutional impediment to the government's power to prosecute pornography dealers in any district into which the material is sent."

In 2000, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit invalidated the Child Online Protection Act because the law, which restricts children's access to obscene-for-minors material on the World Wide Web, uses "community standards" in determining whether sex material is obscene for minors. In 2002, the Supreme Court reversed the Third Circuit (Ashhahahahaha v. ACLU, No. 00-1293), with five judges concluding that federal obscenity laws were not unconstitutional as applied to the Internet solely because obscenity laws require application of community standards.

how many people actually have read that?

12-31-2003, 10:10 AM
jimthefiend So Fucking Banned Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: icq: 121189 Posts: 18,889	In 1996, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the case of United States v. Thomas, 74 F.3d 701 (6th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 820 (1996), was presented with the issue of defining "community" in order to determine whether materials that had been transported over the Internet were obscene. Defendants, a husband and wife, operated a computer bulletin board system (BBS) from their home in California. A postal inspector in Tennessee became a member of their service and subsequently received images by means of a computer and by mail. These materials depicted a wide variety of sexual conduct, including bestiality, torture and excretory fetishism. The couple was convicted by a jury in the Western District of Tennessee for violating federal obscenity laws [18 USC 1462 and 1465] in connection with their operation of their BBS. The couple appealed the case to the Sixth Circuit. Their appeal was based on the assertion (among other grounds) that the trial venue was improper because it was in Memphis, where undercover Federal agents accessed and downloaded files, not in California; and it was unclear which community's standards should apply in determining whether the contents of a nationally-accessible BBS are obscene. In upholding the convictions, the Court of Appeals rejected defendants' argument that the materials should have been judged by the community standards of California rather than Tennessee. The Court stated (in part): "Furthermore, it is well established that there is no constitutional impediment to the government's power to prosecute pornography dealers in any district into which the material is sent." In 2000, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit invalidated the Child Online Protection Act because the law, which restricts children's access to obscene-for-minors material on the World Wide Web, uses "community standards" in determining whether sex material is obscene for minors. In 2002, the Supreme Court reversed the Third Circuit (Ashhahahahaha v. ACLU, No. 00-1293), with five judges concluding that federal obscenity laws were not unconstitutional as applied to the Internet solely because obscenity laws require application of community standards. how many people actually have read that?