Redmond v. United States

Background

A husband and wife mailed undeveloped films of each other posing nude to an out-of-state photo lab and received the developed negatives and a print. They were charged under the federal obscenity law and convicted; the Sixth Circuit affirmed that conviction before the case reached this Court.

Reasoning

The Solicitor General filed a motion asking the Court to vacate the conviction and direct dismissal because the prosecution did not follow internal Justice Department charging policies described in an August 31, 1964 memorandum. That memo says prosecutions for allegedly obscene private correspondence should be rare and reserved for repeated offenders or other aggravated situations. The Government told the Court the couple were not repeat offenders, had no history with obscene materials or sex offenses, and had no apparent contact with young people. After independently reviewing the record, the Court granted the motion, vacated the Court of Appeals’ judgment, remanded the case to the District Court, and directed dismissal, citing Petite v. United States.

Real world impact

The ruling requires dismissal here because the prosecution did not follow Justice Department policy and no aggravating circumstances were present. It reduces the chance that ordinary private senders of intimate images will face routine federal obscenity charges when prosecutors follow this internal guidance. This decision rests on prosecutorial policy and an order to dismiss rather than a broad constitutional ruling, so its legal reach is tied to those policy and procedural grounds.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Stewart, joined by Justices Black and Douglas, would have reversed the conviction on constitutional grounds rather than rely on the Justice Department policy.