Carlson Et Al. v. United States

Background

Two men were convicted in the federal district court in Los Angeles for mailing allegedly obscene material under 18 U.S.C. §1461, a federal law that bars sending obscene matter through the mail. The Ninth Circuit affirmed those convictions, and the defendants asked the Supreme Court to review the case. The Court denied that request, so the lower-court affirmance stands for now.

Reasoning

The central dispute in the opinions is whether the Court should independently review the allegedly obscene materials and whether the federal statute is constitutionally overbroad. One Justice (Douglas) said any federal ban on obscenity is barred by the First Amendment and would have granted review and reversed. Another Justice (Brennan), joined by two colleagues, argued that the Court improperly denied review because the petitioners did not certify the materials and the Court therefore never performed the independent review required by earlier decisions.

Real world impact

Because the Supreme Court refused to take the case, the convictions affirmed by the Ninth Circuit remain in effect. The dissenters say that without the Court’s independent review of the materials and a clear finding about whether local community standards were applied, the defendants were denied a full judicial check and may need a new proceeding. The dissent asks the Court at minimum to vacate and send the case back for the required review or for a determination about a possible new trial.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Brennan (joined by Justices Stewart and Marshall) dissented, urging vacatur and remand for review and for consideration of local community standards; Justice Douglas separately would have granted review and reversed.