1. Sheppard v. Sheppard was jailed for murdering his wife, but the ruling
Maxwell was overturned after an 8-to-1 decision from the Supreme
Court found that Sheppard did not receive a fair trial.
Received too much media coverage and jury was able to
leave courthouse and read all of that so they were bias.
Ruled that trial judge should have either postponed the
proceedings or transferred them to a different venue.
2. Miller v. Califor- - Miller: mass mailing of obscene material.
nia (1973)
-Court HELD that obscene materials don't have 1st
amendment rights.
-Modified obscenity test: Miller test (3-prong)
Standard still in place today. In its aftermath, sexu-
al-themed materials are more available.
3. Virginia State Virginia Citizens Consumer Council challenged Virginia
Board of Phar- statute that declared it unprofessional conduct for li-
macy v. Virginia censed pharmacists to advertise prescription drug prices.
Citizens Con-
sumer Council Supreme Court ruled first amendment applied & prices
(1976) could be advertised.
4. LAPS test -Part of the criteria for determining obscenity in Miller v.
California (1973)
-Work is considered obscene if it lacks "literary, artistic,
political or "scientific" value."
5. Roth v. US (1957) Roth convicted of mailing obscene materials;
Supreme Court ruled (also applied to Alberts v. California)
that obscenity was not protected under 1st Amendment.
Created obscenity test: "Whether avg. person, applying
contemporary standards, would view material as a whole
to apply to prurient interest."
, JRN 430 Final Exam Test Questions with Verified Answers
Miller V. California (1973) modified obscenity test.
6. Roth-Memoirs 1. The dominant theme of the material taken as a whole
Test (1966) must appeal to prurient interest in sex.
2. A court must find that the material is patently offensive
because it affronts contemporary community standards
relating to the description or representation of sexual
matters.
3. Before something can be found to be obscene, it must
be utterly without redeeming social value.
Modified by 1973 Miller V. California case.
7. Comstock Act of Barred the mailing of obscene publications.
1873
8. Supreme Court "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it."
Justice Potter
Stewart said
what about ob-
scenity..?
9. Central Hudson Four-part test used by courts to determine restrictions on
Test commercial speech:
1. Whether adv. is misleading & whether it concerns a
legal product or service.
2. Whether asserted govt. interest is substantial
3. Whether regulation directly advances asserted govt.
interest
4. Whether regulation is 'not more extensive' than neces-
sary to serve govt. interest
10. Miller 3 part test 1. Prurient Interest Test
2. Patent Offensiveness Test
3. Serious Value Test (LAPS Test)
11. Memoirs v. Mass- Fanny Hill case which, in conjunction with Roth, provided
achusetts (1966) the Roth-Memoirs Test for obscenity.