Hill v. United States

Background

Petitioner, a Florida man, was convicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida for shipping and transporting motion-picture films through common carriers across state lines. He was charged under federal criminal laws, 18 U.S.C. §1462 and §1465, for sending allegedly obscene films and for transporting them for sale or distribution. Section 1462 prescribes fines and possible imprisonment for shipping obscene material. The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the convictions (500 F.2d 733 (1974)), and the man petitioned the Supreme Court for review.

Reasoning

The Supreme Court denied the petition for review and issued no majority opinion explaining the denial. By declining to take the case, the Court did not reverse or change the appeals court’s judgment. The order simply leaves the lower-court outcome in place without resolving the statutes’ broader legal questions in this opinion.

Real world impact

The denial leaves the defendant’s federal convictions and the Fifth Circuit’s decision intact. It does not establish a new national interpretation of the obscenity statutes, nor does it settle whether local community standards were applied at trial. Because the Court did not decide the merits, the legal situation could change in future proceedings or if the Court later agrees to hear a related case.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Brennan, joined by Justices Stewart and Marshall, dissented from the denial. He argued the federal statute was overbroad, said he would have granted review and reversed, and urged vacating and remanding so the defendant could seek a new trial applying local community standards.