GRONER, DBA LUCKY DISTRIBUTORS
v.
UNITED STATES

U.S. | 1973-10-23
No. 72-1731
with whom Mr. Justice Stewart and Mr. Justice Marshall
414 U.S. 969 Supreme Court of the United States (1973) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 cases
Topics
Obscenity Overbreadth Doctrine Interstate Commerce

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Dissent
Mr. Justice Brennan,

Mr. Justice Brennan,

with whom Mr. Justice Stewart and Mr. Justice Marshall concur, dissenting.

Petitioner was convicted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on charges of using a common carrier for carriage of allegedly obscene matter in violation of 18 U. S. C. § 1462, which provides in pertinent part as follows:

“Whoever . . . knowingly uses any express company or other common carrier, for carriage in interstate or foreign commerce—

“(a) any obscene, lewd, lascivious, or filthy book, pamphlet, picture, motion-picture film, paper, letter, writing, print, or other matter of indecent character “Shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both . . . .”

A panel of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the conviction. 475 F. 2d 550 (1972). On rehearing en banc, the panel was overruled and petitioner’s judgment of conviction was affirmed. 479 F. 2d 577 (1973).

I adhere to my dissent in United States v. Orito, 413 U. S. 139, 147 (1973), in which, speaking of 18 U. S. C. § 1462, I expressed the view that “[wjhatever the extent of the Federal Government’s power to bar the distribution of allegedly obscene material to juveniles or the offensive exposure of such material to unconsenting adults, the statute before us is clearly overbroad and unconstitutional on its face." 413 U. S., at 147-148. For the reasons stated in my dissent in Miller v. California, 413 U. S. 15, 47 (1973), I would therefore grant certiorari, vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and remand for further proceedings consistent with my dissent in Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton, 413 U. S. 49, 73 (1973). In that circumstance, I have no occasion to consider whether the other questions presented merit plenary review. See Heller v. New York, 413 U. S. 483, 494 (1973) (Brennan, J., dissenting).

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Citator

Cited By

  • Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188 (U.S. 1977)
    …F. 2d 577 (CA5) (en banc) (the seven dissenting judges and one judge concurring in the result—constituting a majority on this issue—found that Memoirs stated the governing standard), vacated and remanded for further consideration in light of Miller, 414 U. S. 969 (1973); United States v. Pellegrino, 467 F. 2d 41 (CA9 1972); Southeastern Promotions, Ltd. v. Oklahoma City, 459 F. 2d 282 (CA10 1972); Huffman v. United States, 152 U. S. App. D. C 238, 470 F. 2d 386 (1971), conviction reversed on other grounds…
  • United States v. Walter "Frenchy" Bagnell, 679 F.2d 826 (11th Cir. 1982)
    …mony of the other expert witnesses. See United States v. Groner, 479 F. 2d 577, 587 (5th Cir.) (en banc) (Ainsworth, J., concurring) (expert testimony in obscenity cases can be helpful, but it may confuse rather than aid the trier of fact), vacated, 414 U.S. 969, 94 S.Ct. 278, 38 L.Ed.2d 213 (1973) (remanded [*834] for reconsideration in light of Miller v. California, 413 U.S. at 15, 93 S.Ct. at 2607), adhered to, 494 F. 2d 499 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1010, 95 S.Ct. 331, 42 L.Ed.2d 285 (1974). N…
  • United States v. Ratner, 502 F.2d 1300 (5th Cir. 1974)
    …the courts of another obscenity case, in which some of the issues were identical and some related to those raised by the appellants here. That case was United States v. Groner, 5 Cir. 1972, 475 F. 2d 550, rev’d en banc, 1973, 479 F. 2d 577, vacated, 414 U.S. 969, 94 S.Ct. 278, 38 L.Ed.2d 213. The Supreme Court remanded Groner for reconsideration in light of Miller v. California, 1973, 413 U.S. 18, 93 S.Ct. 2607, 37 L.Ed.2d 419, and its companion cases.1 This Court rendered its decision on remand on May 24,…

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