Law Commons^™

An Internal Critique Of Paris Adult Theatre I V. Slaton, Amien Kacou

Amien Kacou

This is a critique of the Supreme Court’s majority opinion in Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton, which endorsed an attempt by authorities in the state of Georgia to enjoin the exhibition of two allegedly obscene films in two privately owned commercial adult theaters. This case was decided in 1973, as a companion case to Miller v. California—which has shaped constitutional jurisprudence on the subject matter of obscenity ever since. What this critique purports to show is that the Court’s endorsement was inconsistent with its prior decision in Stanley v. Georgia, and that the Court distinguished that case arbitrarily. It …