Deck 11: Obscenity and Indecency

Question 1

Which of the following is the broad term used to describe all material that is sexually explicit and intended primarily for the purpose of sexual arousal?

A)Obscenity
B)Blasphemy
C)Pornography
D)Indecency

Answer 1

C

Question 2

What did the Meese Commission conclude in 1986?

A)There is no compelling evidence that exposure to explicit sexual materials is a cause of delinquent behavior.
B)There is reliable evidence linking exposure to explicit sexual materials and a significant decline in adolescent morality.
C)Exposure to sexually explicit materials that are violent leads to more aggressive attitudes toward women and probably greater sexual violence.
D)Pornography is financed primarily with money from organized crime.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

In some cases persons convicted of obscenity violations may be subject to property forfeitures under the

A)federal Pandering Act.
B)RICO Act.
C)Child Pornography Control Act.
D)Telecommunications Act.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The U.S.Supreme Court in 1980 upheld a lower court determination that Penthouse magazine was obscene.

Question 5

The first Presidential Commission on Obscenity and Pornography concluded that

A)pornography is linked to increased rates of sexual assault.
B)pornography is addicting and is damaging to the U.S.economy.
C)evidence shows a connection between sexually explicit materials and increases in general criminal behavior.
D)there is no reliable evidence linking pornography with delinquent or criminal behavior.

Question 6

Sexually explicit material,even if not obscene,may be regulated through zoning and postal laws.

Question 7

The Supreme Court has made it clear that the Miller standard identifies only materials that might be called "hard-core."

Question 8

According to the ruling in Pope v.Illinois,all three parts of the Miller test are to be determined with reference to local community standards.

Question 9

Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,common law courts in England frequently dealt out severe punishment against distributors of sexually explicit material.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT one of the elements of the Miller test for obscenity?

A)The average person,applying contemporary community standards,would find that the work appeals to the prurient interest.
B)The work depicts patently offensive violence or force for its own sake.
C)The work depicts in a patently offensive way sexual conduct as defined by state law.
D)The work,taken as a whole,lacks serious literary,artistic,political,or scientific value.

Question 11

Broadcasters are permitted to air "indecent" programming for adults during a period of the day called the

A)Miller time.
B)adult format.
C)safe harbor.
D)None of the above; indecency is now banned 24 hours a day.

Question 12

The Supreme Court laid the general foundation for today's approach to obscenity law in what 1950s case?

A)Roth v.United States
B)Paris Adult Theatre I v.Slaton
C)Miller v.California
D)Pope v.Illinois

Question 13

Production and distribution of obscene materials was a crime throughout most of the United States by the

A)mid-1700s.
B)mid-1800s.
C)early 1900s.
D)mid-1900s.

Question 14

In the mid 1990s one broadcast organization agreed to pay $1.7 million in fines for indecency violations that occurred

A)during mid-day soap operas on TV.
B)when adult videos were accidentally aired too early in the evening.
C)during "The Howard Stern Show."
D)during a series of news broadcasts about sexual problems.

Question 15

In Cruz v.Ferre a federal Court of Appeals held that

A)the Pacifica doctrine also applies to cable TV programming.
B)indecency may be banned from cable 24 hours a day.
C)the Pacifica doctrine does not apply to the cable medium.
D)the city of Miami had no jurisdiction over local cable content.

Question 16

After prior efforts were invalidated by the courts,Congress in 1998 again sought to prohibit "indecency" in cyberspace when it passed a statute called the

A)Decency in America Act (DAA).
B)Internet Safety and Development Act.
C)Computer Expression Act.
D)Child Online Protection Act (COPA).

Question 17

In one of the Supreme Court's most thorough defenses of the categorical obscenity exclusion,Paris Adult Theatre I v.Slaton,the Court said that

A)there is substantial scientific data demonstrating that obscenity is harmful.
B)scientific data supporting the obscenity exclusion is sparse,but constitutionally sufficient.
C)scientific evidence of harm is unnecessary.

Question 18

In FCC v.Pacifica Foundation the Supreme Court upheld the restriction against broadcast indecency on two grounds.What were they?

Question 19

The FCC's definition of indecency is different from obscenity in what respect?

A)For indecency there is no requirement of appeal to prurient interest.
B)For indecency there is no built-in protection for material that contains artistic value.
C)Both of the above.
D)None of the above.

Question 20

If material is obscene under the Miller test,this means that

A)only the federal government may regulate it.
B)the material violates the U.S.Constitution.
C)jurisdictions may outlaw the material if they wish.
D)the material is illegal in every state.

Question 21

A few jurisdictions have attempted to curb sexually explicit materials by declaring them a violation of women's civil rights.Have these efforts been successful? Explain.