HERMAN v. ARKANSAS., 420 U.S. 953 (1975)
U.S. Supreme Court
HERMAN v. ARKANSAS. , 420 U.S. 953 (1975)420 U.S. 953
James H. HERMAN, Andrew R. Chaja,
and Donald Lowe
v.
State of ARKANSAS.
No. 74-717.
Supreme Court of the United States
February 24, 1975
On petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Arkansas.
The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.
Mr. Justice BRENNAN, joined by Mr. Justice STEWART and Mr. Justice MARSHALL, dissenting.
Petitioners were convicted in the Pulaski County, Arkansas Circuit Court of exhibiting an allegeldy obscene film in violation of Ark.Stat.Ann . 41-2729
(Supp.1973), which provides in pertinent part as follows:
The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed. Herman v. State, 512 S.W.2d 923 (1974).
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 their allegedly 'obscene' contents.' Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton, 413 U.S. 49, 113 (1973) (Brennan, J., dissenting). It is clear that, tested by that constitutional standard, 41-2729, as it incorporates the definition of 'obscene' in 41-2730(2), is unconstitutionally over-broad and therefore invalid on its face. For the reasons stated in my dissent in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, 47 (1973), I would therefore grant certiorari, and, since the judgment of the Supreme Court of Arkansas was rendered after Miller, reverse. In that circumstance, I have no occasion to consider whether the other questions presented merit plenary review. See Heller v. New York, 413 U.S. 483, 495 (1973 ) (Brennan, J., dissenting).
Mr. Justice DOUGLAS took no part in the consideration of decision of this case.
Finally, it does not appear from the petition and response that
the obscenity of the disputed materials was adjudged by applying
local community standards. Based on my dissent in Hamling v. United
States, 418 U.S.
87, 141 (1974), I believe that, consistent with the Due Process
[420 U.S. 953 ,
955]
U.S. Supreme Court
HERMAN v. ARKANSAS. , 420 U.S. 953 (1975) 420 U.S. 953 James H. HERMAN, Andrew R. Chaja, and Donald Lowev.
State of ARKANSAS.
No. 74-717. Supreme Court of the United States February 24, 1975 On petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Arkansas. The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied. Mr. Justice BRENNAN, joined by Mr. Justice STEWART and Mr. Justice MARSHALL, dissenting. Petitioners were convicted in the Pulaski County, Arkansas Circuit Court of exhibiting an allegeldy obscene film in violation of Ark.Stat.Ann . 41-2729 Page 420 U.S. 953 , 954 (Supp.1973), which provides in pertinent part as follows: