MMC 4200 Exam 3 Detailed Questions and Answers_100% A+ Graded

MMC 4200 Exam 3 Detailed Questions and Answers_100% A+ Graded Ira Isaacs Case Facts - CORRECT ANSWER--Federal Jury in LA convicted adult filmmaker on multiple accounts of obscenity for distributing on his website fetish films that featured Scatology and bestiality -filmmaker testified that his movies were a form of "shock art" that merely "explored the darker side of the human condition." Ira Isaacs Case Ruling - CORRECT ANSWER--In 2013, the 61-year-old filmmaker was sentenced to 4 years in Federal Prison -By 2017, this case was the last major federal obscenity prosecution in the U.S. What are the main reasons there hasn't been an obscenity prosecution since 2013? - CORRECT ANSWER-1) Mainstreaming popularity of adult content, which makes it harder to win an obscenity conviction 2) Obama administration's decision to focus its resources on prosecuting child pornography rather than obscenity cases 3) the fact that large-scale producers of adult content in the U.S. know what kind of content not to show to avoid prosecutions Obscenity cases are often driven by... - CORRECT ANSWER-political motives Lawrence Walters & "War on Porn" - CORRECT ANSWER-First Amendment defense attorney (LW) observed in 2016 that the "War on Porn" simply has shifted and rebranded as a "War on Sex Trafficking" with sites such as Backpage drawing lawmakers' wrath for supposedly promoting minors in Prostitution through "escort" ads Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act - CORRECT ANSWER--War on sex trafficking -Many underage girls being advertised for trafficking on the website (Backpage) -CDA in 1996 (Communications Decency Act) section 230 provides broad immunity for online service providers, like Backpage, from content generated from third parties -Backstage was just a host -This was allowed because the internet was slowly developing and the government did not want to hinder the development of the internet -States couldn't go over Backpage because Backpage itself did not generate the content -Congress says this is wrong because it allows for sexual trafficking to occur -Gets rid of CDA section 230 in some circumstances -Makes it a criminal offense for owning, managing and operating an interactive service if they do so with the intent to promote or facilitate the prostitution of a person -If you act in reckless disregard to stop the sex traffic, you get in even more trouble -Congress decided to pass this law Woodhull Freedom Foundation v. United States - CORRECT ANSWER--Case on the fight against online sex trafficking -Plaintiffs did not have standing to sue -Challenged FOSTA -Argument that it harmed sex workers because it has a reverse effect for not allowing sex workers to advertise on the internet, they have to go out on the streets to pimps, etc. -Was supposed to be well intended but had repercussions -Case is up on appeal now because Woodhull Freedom Foundation has no standing to sue, they were not directly harmed by it -Vagueness issue- what does it mean to "promote" or "facilitate" prostitution -Reckless disregard -Claim they have standing to sue now an "intractable problem" - CORRECT ANSWER-How U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Harlan described the regulation of sexually explicit speech in 1996 (Relating to the Law of Obscenity) "Two important facts" on regulation of sexually explicit speech - CORRECT ANSWER-1) The nation's high court made it clear more than 60 years ago in Roth v. U.S. that a narrow category of sexually explicit speech called "obscenity" is NOT protected by the First Amendment freedoms of speech and press 2) The Supreme Court articulated in 1973 in Miller v. California a test still used by all courts for determining when speech is obscene 5 Problems that exist today in regulating obscenity and sexually explicit speech - CORRECT ANSWER-1) The Miller Obscenity Test leaves much wiggle room for interpretation in its actual application by Judge and Juries; the test also embraces the use of contemporary community standards that very from state to state, so something could be protected in one state but not another 2) Technologies as well as cable and satellite TV services have made adult content readily accessible 3) Some people feel that speech considered obscene under Miller nonetheless deserves First Amendment protection; Not only is sexually explicit content an incredibly popular form of entertainment, but evidence is inconsistent and conflicting about whether viewing it really causes harm 4) There is a question of the inefficient use of scarce govt monetary resources in prosecuting obscenity cases today when the content involves adults who freely consented to take part in the activities shown - many feel there are greater problems to worry about 5) There is a problem of dealing with sexually explicit content that may not quite rise to the level of obscenity under Miller but that nonetheless is sexual and broadcast over the nation's TV and radio airwaves