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Saturday, July 17, 2010
Stagliano gets off on all charges
On Friday, a judge dismissed all charges in the case against John Stagliano, who was being prosecuted under federal obscenity laws in Washington, DC for producing and distributing pornography videos (I discussed this case earlier in the week).
While this is a big win for free speech, the obscenity laws he was charged with are still on the books and the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force is still operating within the Department of Justice. As we all know, government bureaucracies are constantly trying to find ways to prove their usefulness and American politicians have shown little interest in this issue, so I suspect we will see similar prosecutions in the future.
News of the decision came through via intrepid reporter Richard Abowitz's Twitter feed late Friday afternoon. The hard working Reason.tv crew quickly rushed out of the office to capture Stagliano's reaction to the verdict:
For more information about the trial, check out Reason magazine's extensive coverage. Also be sure to read my recent article on freedom of expression.
Cross-posted on jesse.kline.ca
Posted by Jesse Kline on July 17, 2010 in Freedom of expression | Permalink
Comments
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I have been prosecuted for 3 years for a single image.
In riverside ca, if any lawyers would like to slay a dragon, I need you in riverside.
this image has no nudity, no exposure of genitalia, no anal exposure and no sexual conduct!
you can see the image at http://angelfire.com/rock2/twiggyramirez
Posted by: robin | 2010-07-17 9:23:27 PM
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