John Stagliano Obscenity Case Affects Everyone

On April 21 John Stagliano, one of the biggest names in adult entertainment, will be arraigned on seven federal obscenity charges. For those that have not heard about this case, on April 8 Mr. Stagliano was charged by a federal grand jury with seven different obscenity charges related to operating an obscenity distribution business (read the full indictment here) naming two movies, Jay Sin's Milk Nymphos and Joey Silvera's Storm Squirters as well as Belladonnas movie trailer for Fetish Fanatic 5. Not only are charges being brought against him, but against his business John Stagliano Inc. and Evil Angel Productions. If, at the end of this case, it is deemed that Mr. Stagliano is guilty, he is looking at around 32 years in prison and seven million dollars in fines.

Why should anyone care what happens to a pornographer? This time around it affects more than the person being charged and it affects more than the adult industry. First Amendment rights are a stake as well as the freedom of the internet. In a nation where the events of September 11 have made cause for the Bush Administration to pass laws, such as the Patriot Act, that slowly strip away constitutional rights in the name of protecting the country, people should stand up and pay attention to this obscenity case. The outcome of this case could very well take us a step or two back to the times of book burning.

A US Supreme Court case in 1973, Miller vs. California, legally defined obscenity and determined that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment. Today, in order for something to be considered obscene, the Miller Test has to be applied. In order for something to be considered obscene it must meet the following three conditions:

1. The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interests.

2. The work depicts, or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state (or federal) law

3. The work, taken as a whole, lacks serious, artistic, political or scientific value.