Obscenity
Any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time.
- Obscenity30 related topics
Miller v. California
Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court modifying its definition of obscenity from that of "utterly without socially redeeming value" to that which lacks "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."
Lady Chatterley's Lover
Last novel, by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Italy, and in 1929, in France.
Last novel, by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Italy, and in 1929, in France.
The book was also banned for obscenity in the United States, Canada, Australia, India and Japan.
Roth v. United States
Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476 (1957), along with its companion case Alberts v. California, was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court which redefined the Constitutional test for determining what constitutes obscene material unprotected by the First Amendment.
Jacobellis v. Ohio
Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 (1964), was a United States Supreme Court decision handed down in 1964 involving whether the state of Ohio could, consistent with the First Amendment, ban the showing of the Louis Malle film The Lovers (Les Amants), which the state had deemed obscene.
I know it when I see it
Colloquial expression by which a speaker attempts to categorize an observable fact or event, although the category is subjective or lacks clearly defined parameters.
Colloquial expression by which a speaker attempts to categorize an observable fact or event, although the category is subjective or lacks clearly defined parameters.
The phrase was used in 1964 by United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart to describe his threshold test for obscenity in Jacobellis v. Ohio.
D. H. Lawrence
English writer and poet.
English writer and poet.
Both novels were highly controversial and were banned on publication in the UK for obscenity, although Women in Love was banned only temporarily.
Potter Stewart
American lawyer and judge who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981.
American lawyer and judge who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981.
In the obscenity case of Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964), Stewart wrote in his short concurrence that "hard-core pornography" was hard to define, but that "I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that."
Penguin Books
British publishing house.
British publishing house.
The novel was at the time unpublished in the United Kingdom and the predicted obscenity trial, R v Penguin Books Ltd, not only marked Penguin as a fearless publisher, it also helped drive the sale of at least 3.5 million copies.
Miller test
The Miller test, also called the three-prong obscenity test, is the United States Supreme Court's test for determining whether speech or expression can be labeled obscene, in which case it is not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and can be prohibited.
William S. Burroughs
American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular culture and literature.
American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular culture and literature.
Once published in the United States, Naked Lunch was prosecuted as obscene by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, followed by other states.