| California v. Freeman |
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| | August 25, 1988 | | Full case name: | The People v. Harold Freeman | | Citations: | 46 Cal. 3d 419; 758 P.2d 1128; 250 Cal. Rptr. 598; 1988 Cal. LEXIS 171; 15 Media L. Rep. 2072 | | Prior history: | Defendant convicted, Superior Court, Los Angeles County; conviction affirmed, 233 Cal. Rptr. 510 (Cal. Ct.App. 1987); sentence affirmed, 234 Cal. Rptr. 245 (Cal. Ct.App. 1987); review granted, 734 P.2d 562 (Ca. 1987) | | Subsequent history: | Stay denied, 488 U.S. 1311 (1989); certiorari denied, 489 U.S. 1017 (1989) | | | Holding | | California pandering statute did not criminalize the hiring of actors for nonobscene adult films. | | Court membership | | Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas | | Associate Justices Marcus Kaufman, Stanley Mosk, Allan Broussard, Edward Panelli, David Eagleson, Anthony Kline (Court of Appeal justice, sitting by asignment) | | | Case opinions | | Majority by: Kaufman | | Joined by: Mosk, Broussard, Panelli, Kline | | Concurring without separate opinion: Lucas, Eagleson | | | Laws applied | | U.S. Const. Amend. I; Cal. Penal Code ยงยง 266I, 647 | Harold Freeman was a producer and director of pornographic films who was arrested in 1987 for hiring adult actors, which the prosecution interpreted as pandering. This was part of an attempt by the State of California to shut down the pornographic film industry. The prosecution's interpretation was ultimately rejected by the California Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately turned aside the State's petition to review the case. Prior to this decision, pornographic movies had often been shot in secret locations. Pornographic movies appeared shortly after the creation of the movie technology that made them possible. ...
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Freeman was initially convicted, and lost on appeal to the California Court of Appeals. The trial judge, however, thought jail would be an unreasonably harsh penalty for Freeman's conduct, and sentenced him to probation, despite the fact that this was explicitly contrary to the statute. The State appealed this sentence but lost.
Freeman appealed to the California Supreme Court, which subsequently overturned his conviction, finding that the California pandering statute was not intended to cover the hiring of actors who would be engaging in sexually explicit but non-obscene performances. Freeman could only have been lawfully convicted of pandering if he had paid the actors for the purpose of sexually gratifying himself or the actors. The court relied upon the language of the statute for this interpretation, as well as the need to avoid a conflict with the First Amendment right to free speech. The court viewed Freeman's conviction as "a somewhat transparent attempt at an 'end run' around the First Amendment and the state obscenity laws." The Supreme Court of California is the state supreme court in California. ...
Obscenity has several connotations. ...
The first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. ...
Freedom of speech is the right to freely say what one pleases, as well as the related right to hear what others have stated. ...
The State of California unsuccessfully tried to have this judgment overturned by the United States Supreme Court. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor denied a stay of the California Supreme Court's judgment, finding that its ruling was founded on an independent and adequate basis of state law. The full Court subsequently denied review. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States...
Jump to: navigation, search Justice Sandra Day OConnor Sandra Day OConnor (born March 26, 1930) has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1981. ...
As a result of this precedent, the making of hardcore pornography was effectively legalized in California. Pornography (from Greek πορνογραφια pornographia — literally writing about or drawings of harlots) is the representation of the human body or human sexual behaviour with the goal of sexual arousal, similar to, but (according to some) distinct from, erotica. ...
Reference
- California v. Freeman, 488 U.S. 1311 (1989)
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