BRYANT v. NORTH CAROLINA - 419 U.S. 974 (1974)
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U.S. Supreme Court
BRYANT v. NORTH CAROLINA , 419 U.S. 974 (1974)
419 U.S. 974
Joe BRYANT and Raymond Mitchell Floyd
v.
State of NORTH CAROLINA.
No. 73-1811.
Jake HORN
v.
State of NORTH CAROLINA.
No. 73-1818.
Supreme Court of the United States
October 29, 1974
On petitions for writs of certiorari to the Supreme Court of North Carolina.
The petitions for writs of certiorari are denied.
Mr. Justice BRENNAN, with whom Mr. Justice STEWART and Mr. Justice MARSHALL join, dissenting.
Petitioner Bryant and Floyd were convicted in the Superior Court of Mecklenburg County of exhibiting allegedly obscene motion pictures in violation of North
Carolina General Statute 14-190.1 (Cum.Supp.1971). Petitioner Horn was convicted in the Superior Court of New Hanover County of selling allegedly obscene magazines in violation of the same statute. Section 14-190.1 provided in pertinent part at the times of the alleged offenses as follows:
- '(a) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to intentionally disseminate obscenity in any public place. A person, firm, or corporation disseminates obscenity within the meaning of this article if he or it:
- '(1) Sells . . . any obscene writing, picture, record, or other representation or embodiment of the obscene; or . . .
- '(4) Exhibits . . . any obscene still or motion picture, film, filmstrip, or any matter or material which is a representation, embodiment, performance, or publication of the obscene.
- '(b) For purposes of this Article any material is obscene if:
- '(1) The dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest in sex; and,
- '(2) The material is patently offensive because it affronts contemporary national community standards relating to the description or representation of sexual matters; and,
- '(3) The material is utterly without redeeming social value.'
Petitioners Bryant and Floyd appealed their convictions to the Court of Appeals of North Carolina, which affirmed. The Supreme Court of North Carolina dismissed an appeal and denied a petition for writ of certiorari. This Court then granted certiorari, vacated the [419 U.S. 974 , 976]
