First Amendment Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

First Amendment Case - Essay Example It was earlier decided and the lower court ruled that the campaign is illegal. The Supreme Court confirmed this decision after hearing the appeal of the case. The reason of the high court is simple: the materials are considered pornographic and therefore, it must be regulated. There is another case which was decided on the same day. This is Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton. The court upheld an injunction against the showing of adult films in Paris Adult Theatre, saying that pornographic exhibition is not legal and not permissible despite the involvement of consenting adults both in the production and showing of said materials. Both the rulings cited the offensive impact of pornographic materials and decided that the interest of the community is more important over unclear claim to First Amendment protection. The question now is whether the courts are correct in its decisions. Is it right to assume that the sexually explicit materials are what the decision called as â€Å"patently offensive† and could harm the community? Is it correct to make them illegal? The issue is quite controversial and it divides the opinion of the public. There is a significant portion of America that approves. But there are also people that raise questions about the rulings because they think it will lead to repression and censorship. First, let us go to the concept cited in the decisions, which is â€Å"patently offensive†. Both of the rulings cited this and it became a huge part in the court judgments. It was argued that patently offensive materials must be made illegal to protect the community and the interest of the citizens. Both the court decisions recognized one important fact however. At present, there are no standards or laws that present the criteria that could determine if a material is offensive and illegal. What the court did was just determine it on its own. One should remember that there is no law that covers this issue in America. There is, therefore, no legal