Obscenity Standard As A Constitutional Issue

In the United States,obscenity,as a social issue,is inextricably linked to freedom of expression.On the one hand,in order to protect public morals,it is necessary to impose a certain degree of restriction on obscenity;on the other hand,the government cannot violate the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution,and suppress books and films with social value in the name of obscenity.Because the concept of obscenity itself is subjective and vague,it is difficult to find a clear and objective criteria to define it uniformly,which also causes confusion in judicial practice.In modern times,the United Kingdom began to enact a written law to restrict obscenity,and form Hicklin test in the judicial practice.This is the first time that the concept of obscenity is legally defined.Based on British law,the United States court soon accepted Hicklin test,and regarded it as the only criterion for judging obscenity for nearly a century.However,thisstandard is ambiguous to the definition of obscenity,resulting in a great deal of damage,so that many recognized works of outstanding literary and artistic value are prohibited,greatly restricting the free expression of speech and thought.For this situation,from judges to scholars,all expressed their views in different periods,called for more scientific definition of obscenity to establish a systematic and mature system of free speech.However,until today,there is still no unified opinion on the formulation of obscenity standard.Based on the concept of obscenity,this paper uses the concept analysis method to point out the causes of the confusion of obscenity standards.Then,the paper uses the method of case analysis,and systematically reviews the development and evolution of obscenity standard in different times and contexts,from the introduction and revision of Hicklin test to the formulation of the Miller test.Finally,this paper analyses the necessity of restricting obscenity and tries to explore the factors that affect obscenity standard.The full text is divided into three chapters,the main contents are summarized as follows:Chapter One: "The issue of obscenity standard." This part,from the legal coercion of moral,brings out the function of obscenity standard in balancing individual rights and public interests.Obscenity should be subject to certain restrictions,due to the initiation of sexual crimes,offensiveness of public feelings,corrosion of social morals and the causing of human materialization.However,because of the fuzziness of obscenity,it is difficult to make clear obscenity standard in judicial practice.Chapter Two: "The development of obscenity standard in judicial practice".This part summarizes the development of obscene standards in the judicial practice,focuses on the introduction and correction of the Hicklin test,the game of the various factions in Roth's case and the follow-up Miller test,indicating that it is very difficult to achieve consensus on the issue of obscenity standard.Chapter Three: "The influential factors of obscenity standard".This part mainly proposes some influential factors to the elaboration of obscenity standard.In summary,feasible obscenity standards should be organically combined with obvious and immediate risk principle,offensiveness principle,society principle and individual principle,recognizing and guaranteeing citizens the right to express their sexuality and giving them the constitutional protection they deserve.