State v. El Dorado Management Corp.

801 S.W.2d 401, 1990 Mo. App. LEXIS 1623, 1990 WL 169521
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 6, 1990
DocketNo. 57729
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 801 S.W.2d 401 (State v. El Dorado Management Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. El Dorado Management Corp., 801 S.W.2d 401, 1990 Mo. App. LEXIS 1623, 1990 WL 169521 (Mo. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

GARY M. GAERTNER, Presiding Judge.

Appellant, El Dorado Management Corporation, Inc., appeals its jury conviction in [404]*404the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis for the class A misdemeanor of promoting obscenity in the second degree, RSMo § 573.030 (1988), for which it was fined one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00). We affirm.

In April of 1988, Andrew Hollins, a detective with the vice division of the St. Louis Police Department, became involved in an investigation of the appellant for its rental of possibly obscene video cassettes. In connection with this investigation, Detective Hollins rented ten videos from the appellant over a two month period. Each video was viewed in its entirety by Detective Hollins, copied and returned to the appellant.

On June 23, 1988, Detective Hollins prepared an application for a search warrant alleging that the appellant had certain video cassettes for rent to the public and that:

said video cassettes are obscene in that they depict, describe, or portray, verbally or pictorially, acts of sexual intercourse, in such a way that the average person, applying contemporary community standards would find that the matter, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest and depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct in a lewd, licentious, indecent, lascivious, immoral and scandalous manner and that a reasonable person would find that the matter, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary artistic, political, or scientific value; or other sexual conduct such as masturbation, sodomy, buggery, fellatio, cunnilingus, bestiality or any other ultimate sexual act, normal or perverted, which are portrayed in such a way that the average person, applying contemporary community standards would find that the matter, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest and depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct in a lewd, licentious, indecent, lascivious, immoral and scandalous manner and that a reasonable person would find that the matter, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary artistic, political, or scientific value and said video cassettes are proscribed by Section 573.-030 RSMo are as follows;
1. EROTICISM IN BLACK
2. LEAVE IT TO CLEAVAGE
3. THE BEST OP ANGEL KELLY (VOL. # 1)
4. QUICKSLIVER
5. SEX RING INTERNATIONAL
6. BOOBY PRIZE (VOL. # 2)
7. NATIONAL PORNOGRAPHIC (VOL. # 1)
8. SUPERHEAD
9. ANAL BABES
10. AFRODISIAC
AND ALL OTHER ITEMS CONTAINED IN AND ON THE PREMISES COMMONLY KNOWN AS 3442 Lindell Blvd., ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, THAT DEPICTS SEXUAL CONDUCT AS FOLLOWS:
WHICH DEPICT, DESCRIBE, OR PORTRAY, VERBALLY OR PICTORIALLY, ACTS OF SEXUAL INTERCOURSE IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE AVERAGE PERSON, APPLYING CONTEMPORARY COMMUNITY STANDARDS WOULD FIND THAT THE MATTER, TAKEN AS A WHOLE, APPEALS TO THE PRURIENT INTEREST AND DEPICTS OR DESCRIBES, IN PATENTLY OFFENSIVE WAY, SEXUAL CONDUCT, IN A LEWD, LICENTIOUS, INDECENT, LASCIVIOUS, IMMORAL AND SCANDALOUS MANNER AND THAT A REASONABLE PERSON WOULD FIND THAT THE MATTER, TAKEN AS A WHOLE, LACKS SERIOUS LITERARY, ARTISTIC, POLITICAL, OR SCIENTIFIC VALUE: OR OTHER SEXUAL CONDUCT SUCH AS MASTURBATION, SODOMY, BUGGERY, FELLATIO, CUNNILINGUS, BEASTIALITY, OR ANY OTHER ULTIMATE SEXUAL ACT, NORMAL OR PERVERTED, WHICH ARE PORTRAYED IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE AVERAGE PERSON, APPLYING CONTEMPORARY COMMUNITY STANDARDS WOULD FIND THAT THE MATTER, TAKEN AS A WHOLE, APPEALS TO THE PRURIENT INTEREST AND DEPICTS OR DESCRIBES, IN A PATENTLY OFFENSIVE WAY, [405]*405SEXUAL CONDUCT IN A LEWD, LICENTIOUS, INDECENT, LASCIVIOUS, IMMORAL AND SCANDALOUS MANNER, TAKEN AS A WHOLE, LACKS SERIOUS LITERARY, ARTISTIC, POLITICAL, OR SCIENTIFIC VALUE

Detective Hollins also attached an affidavit to the above application stating that he had watched the ten named films and that each of them contained explicit scenes of sexual conduct. Detective Hollins then went on to state some of the conduct contained in each film.

The circuit court, after finding that there was probable cause to believe obscene material was being held by the appellant, issued a warrant ordering the police to seize:

[a]ny obscene material in violation of RSMo 573.030 being kept and/or displayed upon the premises, which depict sexual conduct and which are more particularly described in the affidavit; and video cassette movies which depict, describe or portray, verbally or pietorially, acts of sexual intercourse in such a way that the average person, applying contemporary community standards would find that the matter, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest and depicts or describes, in patently offensive way, sexual conduct, in a lewd, licentious, indecent, lascivious, immoral and scandalous manner and that a reasonable person would find that the matter, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value: or other sexual conduct such as masturbation, sodomy, buggery, fellatio, cunnilingus, bestiality, or any other ultimate sexual act, normal or perverted, which are portrayed in such a way that the average person, applying contemporary community standards would find that the mater (sic), taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest and depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct in a lewd, licentious, indecent, lascivious, immoral and scandalous manner and that a reasonable person would find that the matter, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value ...

The search warrant was issued and executed on June 23, 1988.

On July 26, 1988, an information was filed in the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis charging appellant and others with promoting pornography in the second degree. The trial on these charges began on October 30, 1989, and concluded on November 3, 1989. On November 3, 1989, the jury returned its verdict finding appellant guilty as charged. This appeal followed.

Appellant raises numerous points of error. Several of these points include a host of subpoints. For the sake of clarity, each main point will be separated into different sections of this opinion.

I

Appellant’s first set of contentions allege that the trial court committed varying forms of instructional error. Each claim revolves around the verdict directing instruction which stated:

[i]f you find and believe from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt:
First, that on June 7, 1988, in the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, an employee of the defendant ElDorado Management, Inc., D/B/A — Rental Entertainment, while acting within the scope of his employment and in behalf of the Corporation, delivered certain material for pecuniary gain, consisting of a videotape entitled “ANAL BABES”, and
Second, that such material was obscene, and
Third, that defendant ElDorado Management, Inc., D/B/A — Rental Entertainment at the time knew of the content and character of the material,

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Bluebook (online)
801 S.W.2d 401, 1990 Mo. App. LEXIS 1623, 1990 WL 169521, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-el-dorado-management-corp-moctapp-1990.