Jenkins v. Georgia (SCOTUS 1974), 418 U.S. 153

Summary

The Supreme Court reversed Jenkins’s obscenity conviction, holding that the film “Carnal Knowledge” does not meet the Miller test for obscenity and therefore is protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments; the Court also affirmed that states may use local community standards and that appellate courts must independently review constitutional claims. Justice Brennan, joined by Justices Stewart and Marshall, concurred in the result, emphasizing the need for independent appellate review and questioning the clarity of the Miller formulation.

Holding

Whether the film “Carnal Knowledge” is obscene under the Miller v. California test. The film is not obscene because it does not depict sexual conduct in a patently offensive way under Miller’s standards

Whether the First and Fourteenth Amendments protect the exhibition of the film. The exhibition is protected because the film is not obscene under the Constitution

Whether state juries must be instructed to apply statewide or national community standards in obscenity cases. States may instruct juries to apply local community standards without specifying a statewide or national standard

Whether appellate courts must independently review constitutional claims of obscenity despite a jury’s factual findings. Appellate courts have the ultimate power to conduct an independent review of constitutional obscenity claims

Summary

Holding

Cited authorities