Obscenity Law

This clearly written and well-focused volume combines concise decisions of the primary areas of communication law with the foundational case decisions in those domains. Thus, in one volume, students of communication law, constitutional law, political science, and related fields find both the key rulings that define each area of law and a detailed summary of the legal concepts, doctrines, and policies so vital to understanding the rulings within their legal context. The text forgoes the tendency to provide encyclopedic treatment of all the relevant cases and focuses instead on the two or three cases most vital to an accurate and informed understanding of the current state of each field of communication law. The chapters provide readers with the most salient concepts and the necessary depth to understand the law while permitting most: reading time to be directed to the law itself. Full-text rulings allow readers to immerse themselves in the law itself--to develop a feel for its complexity, its flexibility, and its language. Useful as a quick reference to the landmark rulings and the jurisprudence of communication law, this book also serves well as the primary text in related undergraduate courses or as a supplemental text in graduate classes in the field.

This book provides the most comprehensive and contemporary coverage available of communications law, a subject characterized by rapidly expanding and changing horizons. Broader in focus than any other book on the topic, Modern Communications Law considers the media's nature and context, structural governance of the communications industry, and content issues. The author provides an exhaustive study of telephone communications, as well as print, broadcasting, and new media including cable. The book is designed particularly for pertinent law school courses and will also be a key source for legal practitioners, media industry professionals, and government regulators and policymakers.

Richard F. Hixson examines the various ways the United States Supreme Court - the individual justices as well as the collective body - has dealt over time with the intractable problem of obscenity. Hixson proceeds chronologically through eleven chapters, with each chapter featuring a specific aspect of the constitutional problem and the approach or solution espoused by a particular justice. Through his case-by-case analysis of the many Supreme Court obscenity rulings, Hixson relates each decision to the temper of the times. Omnipresent in this discussion, of course, is the United States Constitution, especially the First Amendment upon which the Court bases its decisions. What sets Pornography and the Justices apart from other studies of pornography is its unique focus and its fresh conclusion, which is a composite of views garnered from the Supreme Court justices. As long as the government does not discriminate against specific points of view and as long as there is ample protection of minors and nonconsenting adults, Hixson argues that the private collection of pornography is up to the individual. Hixson contends that the freedom to purchase obscene pornographic matter should be restricted only by time, place, and manner considerations. If a person wants pornography, he or she should be able to get it, albeit perhaps from a higher shelf, in a secluded room, or at a theater clearly marked for adults. Hixson sees no need to legislate personal morals beyond controlling public access.

Farole examines the role of organized interest groups in rights litigation in state courts, analyzing factors affecting groups' willingness and ability to enter state litigation. Farole also investigates whether groups assert rights claims based on state constitutional law, as urged by proponents of the new judicial federalism.

Although governmental commissions are not the only available source of nonpartisan investigation and policy advice, their prestige, scale of operation, and national importance establish the commission as a unique political body. This volume provides both general discussions of commission communication and specific examples of critical analyses of commissions. Part One considers definitional and functional issues inherent in commission studies, and takes up such concerns as the constraints under which these entities operate. Part Two is devoted to case studies of historically, politically, or socially significant commissions, including the Warren Commission investigation of Kennedy's assassination, the President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography in 1970, the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography in 1986 (the Meese Commission), the Rogers Commission investigation of the Challenger space shuttle disaster, and the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. The cases are compared and contrasted, and the authors' research questions and analyses demonstrate the theoretical and methodological pluralism possible in the study of government commission communication. Recommended for scholars of political science, history, and political, rhetorical, small group, and organizational communication.