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SEObot · 09-26-2004, 03:03 AM

Then here alittle story about this in texas?

The appellant was convicted of promotion of obscenity. On petition to this court,

the appellant argues that because he did not know that the videotape in question was

obscene, the evidence is legally insufficient to support his conviction. The appellant also argues that the Court of Appeals erroneously upheld the trial court's exclusion of comparable pornographic evidence from the internet. Because the statute requires only knowledge of the material's character and content, and not knowledge of its legal status as obscene, we hold that the evidence is legally sufficient. Furthermore, because the defendant failed to show a reasonable degree of community acceptance of the internet images, the trial court did not err in excluding the proffered evidence and testimony. Accordingly, we shall affirm.

Background

On October 9, 1996, Detective Reynerson, an undercover police officer in the Dallas Police Department's Vice Division, entered Star Adult Video Center. After viewing a display of videotape boxes, Reynerson selected the videotape box for "Hardcore Schoolgirls Volume 5" and presented the box to the appellant, who was the sales clerk. The appellant checked the videotape number on the side of the box, retrieved the videotape from the back of the video store, and then sold it to Reynerson. Reynerson later viewed the videotape and arrested the appellant for promotion of obscenity.

At trial, the videotape was played for the jury and the videotape box was admitted into evidence. The front of the box has several sexual statements, and the back of the box has sixteen pictures, eleven of which show sexually explicit scenes. (1) Reynerson testified that he had never purchased a videotape in which the activities pictured on the box were different from the activities depicted in the video, and that he chose this videotape based on the pictures on the box. (2) In Reynerson's opinion, the videotape was obscene.

The appellant testified that the video store had between twenty-five and thirty thousand videotapes on site. The appellant testified that he knew the character of the films sold was sexually explicit and that he had a general understanding of what was on most of the videotapes. Although the appellant admitted he knew that some kind of sex act was depicted on all the videotapes, he testified that he did not know the exact content of this particular videotape.

Raymond Hill, a lobbyist and consultant for various sexually oriented businesses across Texas, testified for the defense concerning pornographic businesses in Texas and the materials sold at such businesses. Hill said that the images depicted on the videotape were not uncommon in the industry, and that the videotape was not obscene. Hill also testified concerning advertising for pornographic businesses in radio, billboard, and newspaper advertisements.

Outside the presence of the jury, the appellant proffered the testimony of Stanley Wilder, an internet web-page designer. Wilder testified that there were 225,000 sexually oriented internet sites and that anybody with a computer and modem could access those sites. He testified that the internet sites were available at the Dallas Public Library, but that he did not know of any efforts by library personnel to censor access to the internet. According to Wilder, many of the sites originated in foreign countries that did not regulate such sites. On a computer, Wilder displayed a slide show with images obtained from sexually oriented internet sites.

The State objected to Wilder's testimony and evidence as irrelevant. The trial court sustained the State's objection and excluded the evidence. The trial court explained that, even if the evidence was relevant, it would be excluded under Rule 403 as a needless presentation of cumulative evidence and as confusing and misleading to the jury.

Before the jury charge was read, the appellant made a bill of exceptions concerning Wilder's later trip to the library. During the appellant's testimony, Wilder had gone to the library. On a library computer, Wilder accessed the internet and viewed and downloaded material from the same internet sites that he had presented during his prior testimony. Wilder would have testified that the library made no effort to censor or prevent anyone from using its computers to find sexually explicit images on the internet. The trial court again excluded the evidence. The jury found the appellant guilty.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction. Burden v. State, No. 05-97-01464-CR, slip op. at 5 (Tex. App. -- Dallas August 3, 1999) (not designated for publication). The Court of Appeals held that the evidence was legally sufficient to establish that the appellant knew the character and content of the videotape. Id. at 3. The Court of Appeals concluded that the jury could have found that the appellant had knowledge of the videotape's character and content based on the other sexually explicit videos sold at the store, and based on the videotape's box that had pictures showing explicit sexual acts. Id.

The Court of Appeals further held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding Wilder's testimony and collected images. Id. at 5. It held that evidence of internet pornography was already in the record through the testimony of Reynerson. (3) Id. The Court of Appeals also explained that the appellant's proffered evidence consisted of still pictures, not movies; that most likely the appellant's evidence did not originate in Dallas, but rather Holland or South America; and finally, that Wilder stated that he did not know what efforts, if any, the library had taken to censor access to the internet. Id.

We granted the appellant's petition to determine if the evidence was legally sufficient to support the conviction, and to determine whether Wilder's testimony and the internet images from the library were properly excluded. (4)

09-26-2004, 03:03 AM
SEObot So Fucking Banned Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Texas Posts: 223	Then here alittle story about this in texas? The appellant was convicted of promotion of obscenity. On petition to this court, the appellant argues that because he did not know that the videotape in question was obscene, the evidence is legally insufficient to support his conviction. The appellant also argues that the Court of Appeals erroneously upheld the trial court's exclusion of comparable pornographic evidence from the internet. Because the statute requires only knowledge of the material's character and content, and not knowledge of its legal status as obscene, we hold that the evidence is legally sufficient. Furthermore, because the defendant failed to show a reasonable degree of community acceptance of the internet images, the trial court did not err in excluding the proffered evidence and testimony. Accordingly, we shall affirm. Background On October 9, 1996, Detective Reynerson, an undercover police officer in the Dallas Police Department's Vice Division, entered Star Adult Video Center. After viewing a display of videotape boxes, Reynerson selected the videotape box for "Hardcore Schoolgirls Volume 5" and presented the box to the appellant, who was the sales clerk. The appellant checked the videotape number on the side of the box, retrieved the videotape from the back of the video store, and then sold it to Reynerson. Reynerson later viewed the videotape and arrested the appellant for promotion of obscenity. At trial, the videotape was played for the jury and the videotape box was admitted into evidence. The front of the box has several sexual statements, and the back of the box has sixteen pictures, eleven of which show sexually explicit scenes. (1) Reynerson testified that he had never purchased a videotape in which the activities pictured on the box were different from the activities depicted in the video, and that he chose this videotape based on the pictures on the box. (2) In Reynerson's opinion, the videotape was obscene. The appellant testified that the video store had between twenty-five and thirty thousand videotapes on site. The appellant testified that he knew the character of the films sold was sexually explicit and that he had a general understanding of what was on most of the videotapes. Although the appellant admitted he knew that some kind of sex act was depicted on all the videotapes, he testified that he did not know the exact content of this particular videotape. Raymond Hill, a lobbyist and consultant for various sexually oriented businesses across Texas, testified for the defense concerning pornographic businesses in Texas and the materials sold at such businesses. Hill said that the images depicted on the videotape were not uncommon in the industry, and that the videotape was not obscene. Hill also testified concerning advertising for pornographic businesses in radio, billboard, and newspaper advertisements. Outside the presence of the jury, the appellant proffered the testimony of Stanley Wilder, an internet web-page designer. Wilder testified that there were 225,000 sexually oriented internet sites and that anybody with a computer and modem could access those sites. He testified that the internet sites were available at the Dallas Public Library, but that he did not know of any efforts by library personnel to censor access to the internet. According to Wilder, many of the sites originated in foreign countries that did not regulate such sites. On a computer, Wilder displayed a slide show with images obtained from sexually oriented internet sites. The State objected to Wilder's testimony and evidence as irrelevant. The trial court sustained the State's objection and excluded the evidence. The trial court explained that, even if the evidence was relevant, it would be excluded under Rule 403 as a needless presentation of cumulative evidence and as confusing and misleading to the jury. Before the jury charge was read, the appellant made a bill of exceptions concerning Wilder's later trip to the library. During the appellant's testimony, Wilder had gone to the library. On a library computer, Wilder accessed the internet and viewed and downloaded material from the same internet sites that he had presented during his prior testimony. Wilder would have testified that the library made no effort to censor or prevent anyone from using its computers to find sexually explicit images on the internet. The trial court again excluded the evidence. The jury found the appellant guilty. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction. Burden v. State, No. 05-97-01464-CR, slip op. at 5 (Tex. App. -- Dallas August 3, 1999) (not designated for publication). The Court of Appeals held that the evidence was legally sufficient to establish that the appellant knew the character and content of the videotape. Id. at 3. The Court of Appeals concluded that the jury could have found that the appellant had knowledge of the videotape's character and content based on the other sexually explicit videos sold at the store, and based on the videotape's box that had pictures showing explicit sexual acts. Id. The Court of Appeals further held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding Wilder's testimony and collected images. Id. at 5. It held that evidence of internet pornography was already in the record through the testimony of Reynerson. (3) Id. The Court of Appeals also explained that the appellant's proffered evidence consisted of still pictures, not movies; that most likely the appellant's evidence did not originate in Dallas, but rather Holland or South America; and finally, that Wilder stated that he did not know what efforts, if any, the library had taken to censor access to the internet. Id. We granted the appellant's petition to determine if the evidence was legally sufficient to support the conviction, and to determine whether Wilder's testimony and the internet images from the library were properly excluded. (4)