CHEROKEE NEWS & ARCADE, INC. v. OKLAHOMA, 414 U.S. 967 (1973)
U.S. Supreme Court
CHEROKEE NEWS & ARCADE, INC. v. OKLAHOMA , 414 U.S. 967 (1973)414 U.S. 967
CHEROKEE NEWS & ARCADE, INC., et
al.
v.
State of OKLAHOMA.
No. 72-1709.
Supreme Court of the United States
October 23, 1973
On petition for writ of certiorari to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma.
Petition for writ of certiorari granted, judgment vacated, and case remanded to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma for further consideration in light of Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973); Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton, 413 U.S. 49, 93 S. Ct. 2628 (1973); Kaplan v. California, 413 U.S. 115, 93 S. Ct. 2680 (1973); United States v. 12 200-ft. Reels of Super 8 mm. Film, 413 U.S. 123 (1973); United States v. Orito, 413 U.S. 139 (1973); Heller v. New York, 413 U.S. 483 (1973); Roaden v. Kentucky, 413 U.S. 496 (1973); and Alexander v. Virginia, 413 U.S. 836 ( 1973).
Mr. Justice BRENNAN, with whom Mr. Justice STEWART and Mr. Justice MARSHALL join, dissenting.
Petitioners were convicted on charges of selling allegedly obscene materials in violation of 21 Oklahoma Statutes 1971, 1040.8 and 1040.13. Section 1040.8, among other things, makes it 'unlawful for any person to knowingly . . . sell . . . or otherwise distribute . . . any obscene book, magazine, . . . or other article which is obscene, filthy, indecent, lascivious, lewd or unfit, as defined in Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes 1040.12 . . ..' 1040.13, provides in relevant part that 'Every person who with knowledge of its contents, . . . sells, . . . any obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy or indecent article . . . is guilty of a misdemeanor . . ."
It is my view that, 'at least in the absence of distribution to
juveniles or obtrusive exposure to unconsenting adults, the First
and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit the state and federal
governments from attempting wholly to suppress sexually oriented
materials on the basis of this allegedly 'obscene' contents.' Paris
Adult Theatre I v. Slaton, 413 U.S.
49, 113 (1973) (dissenting opinion). It is clear that, tested
by that constitutional standard, 1040.8 and 1040. 13 are
constitutionally overbroad and therefore invalid on their faces.
For the reasons stated in my dissenting opinion in Miller v.
California, 413 U.S.
15, 47 (1973), I would therefore grant certiorari, vacate the
judgment of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals and remand for
further proceedings not inconsistent with my Paris Adult dissent.
In that circumstance, I have no occasion to consider at this time
whether other questions presented in the petition merit plenary
review. See Heller v. [414 U.S. 967 , 969]
U.S. Supreme Court
CHEROKEE NEWS & ARCADE, INC. v. OKLAHOMA , 414 U.S. 967 (1973) 414 U.S. 967 CHEROKEE NEWS & ARCADE, INC., et al.v.
State of OKLAHOMA.
No. 72-1709. Supreme Court of the United States October 23, 1973 On petition for writ of certiorari to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Petition for writ of certiorari granted, judgment vacated, and case remanded to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma for further consideration in light of Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973); Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton, 413 U.S. 49, 93 S. Ct. 2628 (1973); Kaplan v. California, 413 U.S. 115, 93 S. Ct. 2680 (1973); United States v. 12 200-ft. Reels of Super 8 mm. Film, 413 U.S. 123 (1973); United States v. Orito, 413 U.S. 139 (1973); Heller v. New York, 413 U.S. 483 (1973); Roaden v. Kentucky, 413 U.S. 496 (1973); and Alexander v. Virginia, 413 U.S. 836 ( 1973). Page 414 U.S. 967 , 968 Mr. Justice BRENNAN, with whom Mr. Justice STEWART and Mr. Justice MARSHALL join, dissenting. Petitioners were convicted on charges of selling allegedly obscene materials in violation of 21 Oklahoma Statutes 1971, 1040.8 and 1040.13. Section 1040.8, among other things, makes it 'unlawful for any person to knowingly . . . sell . . . or otherwise distribute . . . any obscene book, magazine, . . . or other article which is obscene, filthy, indecent, lascivious, lewd or unfit, as defined in Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes 1040.12 . . ..' 1040.13, provides in relevant part that 'Every person who with knowledge of its contents, . . . sells, . . . any obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy or indecent article . . . is guilty of a misdemeanor . . ." It is my view that, 'at least in the absence of distribution to juveniles or obtrusive exposure to unconsenting adults, the First and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit the state and federal governments from attempting wholly to suppress sexually oriented materials on the basis of this allegedly 'obscene' contents.' Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton, 413 U.S. 49, 113 (1973) (dissenting opinion). It is clear that, tested by that constitutional standard, 1040.8 and 1040. 13 are constitutionally overbroad and therefore invalid on their faces. For the reasons stated in my dissenting opinion in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, 47 (1973), I would therefore grant certiorari, vacate the judgment of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals and remand for further proceedings not inconsistent with my Paris Adult dissent. In that circumstance, I have no occasion to consider at this time whether other questions presented in the petition merit plenary review. See Heller v. Page 414 U.S. 967 , 969 New York, 413 U.S. 483, 494 (1973) (dissent of Brennan, J.). Mr. Justice DOUGLAS, being of the view that state obscenity regulation is prohibited by the Fourteenth and First Amendments (see Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton, 413 U.S. 49, 70 ( Douglas, J., dissenting)), would grant certiorari and reverse the judgments of conviction.
