Brown v. United States

Background

A person was convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia for using a common carrier to transport allegedly obscene materials, under 18 U.S.C. §1462. The Fourth Circuit affirmed the conviction in an unreported opinion. The Supreme Court earlier vacated and sent the case back for reconsideration after the Miller decision; the Fourth Circuit again affirmed, and the Court denied further review.

Reasoning

Justice Brennan, joined by two colleagues, dissented. He said the federal statute is overbroad and unconstitutional and relied on his earlier dissents in related obscenity cases. He emphasized that the Court’s prior ruling in Jenkins requires the Justices to review the actual materials themselves under the relevant parts of the Miller obscenity test. Because the defendant did not certify the materials and the Court did not request them, Brennan wrote that the defendant never received that independent judicial review and that the conviction should be vacated and sent back for proper review.

Real world impact

Brennan also noted uncertainty about whether local community standards were applied at trial and said the defendant should get an opportunity to present evidence about those standards. If the required review or correct standards were not used, the defendant could be entitled to a new trial. Because the majority denied review, however, the conviction currently remains in place, and the procedural questions raised about certification and review were left unresolved by this Court.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Douglas separately said he would grant review and reverse, expressing the view that a federal ban on obscenity is barred by the First Amendment. Four Justices, Brennan noted, would have granted review and reversed, though those joining his opinion did not insist on deciding the merits.