McCrary v. Oklahoma

Background

A person was convicted in Oklahoma for selling allegedly obscene books and magazines and received a ten-year prison sentence plus a $5,000 fine under an Oklahoma criminal statute. The state appellate court affirmed the conviction, and the case reached the Supreme Court, which granted review, vacated the judgment, and sent the case back to the Oklahoma court for further consideration in light of a group of recent Supreme Court obscenity decisions, including Miller v. California and Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton.

Reasoning

The Supreme Court’s action directs the lower court to reconsider the conviction using the standards announced in those recent decisions. The opinion text does not set out a full majority explanation here; rather, it instructs reconsideration under the new obscenity framework established by the listed cases. Justice Douglas separately said he would grant review and reverse because he believes states may not regulate obscenity under the Fourteenth and First Amendments.

Real world impact

Because the case was vacated and remanded, the Oklahoma conviction is not final and must be reevaluated under the Court’s newer obscenity rules. The outcome could change on rehearing: the conviction could be upheld under the new tests or could be overturned if the statute fails those standards. The order pauses the final punishment while lower courts apply updated legal standards.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Brennan, joined by Justices Stewart and Marshall, dissented, arguing the Oklahoma statute is facially overbroad and invalid and that the conviction should be vacated and proceedings conducted consistent with that view.