Obscenity and Pornography Decisions of the United States Supreme Court [Paperback]

Maureen Harrison (Author), Steve Gilbert (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2000

Major obscenity and pornography decisions of the United States Supreme Court, edited into plain non-legal English for the general adult and young adult reader.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The editors have amassed 15 federal court decisions illustrating the extent to which the First and 14th Amendments protect free speech and the expression of sexually explicit material published in various media formats. The legalese of the justices has been edited and annotated to give lay readers a firm grasp of pertinent concepts without losing them in a forest of juridical semantics. This selection is especially useful as it incorporates the widest possible range of forums in which allegedly objectionable expression can appear, thus giving us a hint of the future direction of the law in this area. The 20th century witnessed intriguing challenges to books (e.g., James Joyce!s Ulysses), theatrical performances, radio shows, and a vague and hastily enacted act of Congress in 1996 that attempted the impossible: to stop the flow of explicit expression on the Internet. The editors show the common threads interwoven among these and other court challenges to thought and expression in a free society as the law attempts to meet the confluence of social change, community values, the maturation of culture, and the growth of technology. Recommended for public libraries and academic libraries at the undergraduate level."Philip Y. Blue, New York State Supreme Court Criminal Branch Law Lib., First Judicial District
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Excellent Books; Ex Library edition (March 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880780232
• ISBN-13: 978-1880780237
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #690,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #87 in Books > Law > Administrative Law > Civil Law

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An impressive legal issues survey., June 5, 2000

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Obscenity and Pornography Decisions of the United States Supreme Court (Paperback)

When might a literary or artistic work be legally defined aspornographic and without social value? In the 1930s Joyce's Ulyssesreceived such a definition by the Supreme Court: today it is a recognized work of art. This surveys thirteen obscenity and pornography decisions spanning over 40 years, making for an excellent legal reference to the process of defining pornography. An impressive compendium and highly recommended for personal, professional, and academic library collections.