News
  Search
  SOB Manual
  Child Porn Manual
  Obscenity Manual
  1986 AG Report
  Studies
  CD Reporter
  Resources
  Links
  Contact ADF
  Financially
  Effective Regulation
  About CDC



OBSCENITY MANUAL



A complete copy of The Preparation and Trial of an Obscenity Case: A Guide for the Prosecuting Attorney (2d Ed. 1988) is reproduced below in pdf format. Since materials have been scanned, some formatting loss and scanning errors may exist.

Copyright © 1985; Second Edition Copyright © 1988. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 87-072917. All Rights Reserved by Citizens for Decency through Law, Inc. Copyright © 2002 Third Edition. All rights reserved by Alliance Defense Fund, Inc.

CAUTION: Some of the legal materials in this book are explicit and not appropriate for immature audiences.

Community Defense Counsel is pleased to make this publication available online free of charge to registered users. Although this edition of the publication was released in 1988, we believe it continues to be a valuable resource for attorneys and officials handling obscenity issues. As with all resources found on this site and elsewhere, practitioners and officials should always confirm and update their research. Materials on this site do not serve as legal advice or as an alternative to competent legal counsel.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to read the materials and can be downloaded free of charge:

Get Acrobat Reader

The authors of this guide have been and continue to be prominent in the battle against pornography. A list of their publications is too lengthy to include. A partial list of their past and present positions follows:

The authors of this guide have been and continue to be prominent in the battle against pornography. A list of their publications is too lengthy to include. A partial list of their past and present positions follows:

Benjamin W. Bull

  • Chief Counsel, The Alliance Defense Fund, Inc.
  • Senior Editor, The Community Defense Reporter
  • Former Board Member, Community Defense Counsel
  • Former Director, European Center for Law and Justice, Strasbourg, France Former
  • Senior Trial Counsel, The American Center for Law and Justice, Virginia Beach, Virginia
  • Former Legal Counsel, Citizens for Decency Through Law, Inc.
  • Former Assistant City Attorney, City of Norfolk, Virginia
  • Former Senior Assistant County Attorney, Fairfax County, Virginia

Alan E. Sears

  • President and General Counsel, The Alliance Defense Fund, Inc.
  • Former Board Member, Community Defense Counsel
  • Former Legal Counsel, Citizens for Decency Through Law, Inc.
  • Former Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of the Criminal Section, Western District of Kentucky, U.S. Department of Justice
  • Former Executive Director, Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, U.S. Department of Justice
  • Former Assistant Corporation Counsel, City of Ashland, Kentucky

Bruce A. Taylor

  • Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice
  • Former President and Chief Counsel, National Law Center for Children and Families
  • Senior Attorney, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, U.S. Department of Justice
  • Former Assistant Attorney General, State of Arizona
  • Former General Counsel, Citizens for Decency Through Law, Inc.
  • Former Assistant Police Prosecutor and Assistant Director of Law, City of Cleveland, Ohio

Len L. Munsil

  • President and General Counsel, The Center for Arizona Policy
  • Former Executive Director and General Counsel, Community Defense Counsel
  • Former Legal Counsel, Citizens for Decency Through Law, Inc.

Obscentity Manual

Table of Contents and Foreword (173kb)

Chapter 1: Investigation and Pretrial Preparation (176kb)

Chapter 2: Search and Seizure (264kb)

Chapter 3: Charging and Plea Bargaining (104kb)

Chapter 4: Jury Selection and Voir Dire (84kb)

Chapter 4 Attachment: Sample Motion in Limine and Brief (2362kb)

Chapter 5: Opening Statement (52kb)

Chapter 6: Proof of Obscenity (487kb)

Chapter 7: Jury Instructions (172kb)

Chapter 8: Appeal (50kb)

Chapter 9: Child Pornography (57kb)

Chapter 10: Variable Obscenity and the Harmful to Minors Standard (110kb)

Chapter 11: RICO (106kb)

Chapter 12: Pornography as a Civil Rights Violation (82kb)

Appendix A: Sample Affidavits and Search Warrants (2009kb)

Appendix B: Glossary of Terms (286kb)

Appendix C: Voir Dire Questions and Transcript (4692kb)

Appendix D: Ripplinger v. Collins, Rejecting Defense Prurient Interest Argument (1078kb)

Appendix E: Use of Cross-Examination of Expert Witness (142kb)

Appendix F: Outline of Cross Examination of Telephone Pollster on Methodology (150kb)

Appendix H: Chargin Instrument: Arrest Warrants and Indictments (1773kb)

Appendix I: Sample Motion for Jury View (422kb)

Appendix J: Sample Trial Brief (671kb)

Appendix K: List of United States Supreme Court Cases on Obscenity Issues (117kb)

Appendix L: Sample Motion and Brief in Support to Determine Conflict of Interest (919kb)

Appendix M: University of Michigan, Journal of Law Reform, Symposium: Pornography, Contents Page (65kb)