United States v. Baranov

293 F. Supp. 610, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12390
District Court, S.D. California·Decided January 18, 1968·No. No. 37570·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

AMENDED OPINION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL

SOLOMON, Chief Judge:

A jury convicted the defendants on 16 counts of having knowingly mailed or caused to be mailed obscene books, magazines and records, as well as advertisements for obscene books, magazines and records, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1461.

The books and magazines are similar to those described in Mishkin v. New York, 383 U.S. 502, 86 S.Ct. 958, 16 L.Ed.2d 56 (1966), and United States v. Klaw, 350 F.2d 155 (2 Cir. 1965).

The Nutrex books (actually booklets) are “bondage books” and bear titles like “Forceful Wife Binds Man in Female Clothes” or “Revengeful Spanking Bondage Predicament.” They contain pictures of men and women forcibly bound and gagged. Dr. Cavanaugh, the government expert, testified that these pictures and the poorly written text appeal to the prurient interest of a particular deviant group. Other booklets of the same type contain numerous small pictures of scantily clad women to advertise other bondage booklets, as well as “spanking” or “wrestling” booklets, which have a specific appeal to sadists and'masochistic groups.

The “Studies in Corporal Punishment” series (“Spanked in Bed” and “Domination by the Whip,” “Teenage Thrashing,” “The Whipping Chorus,” and “Teenage Spanking”) contain crudely drawn sketches of nude or almost-nude young women who are being beaten by a man or a woman either by hand or with a strap or whip. Most of them contain advertisements for similar books, magazines or records which may be purchased from the defendants’ com[612] panies at prices ranging from $3.00 to $10.00. Most of them cost only a small amount to produce.

There were magazines for female homosexuals. The “Lesbian Quarterly” contains approximately 40 pages, six of which are full-page pictures of two nude young women. -Another full-page picture is of one nude girl. Most of the pictures are front or three-quarter views. The “Lesbian Quarterly” also contains an article “Nudism, Right or Wrong,” two short stories, “Switchabout Sweethearts,” and “Assignment Sex,” and two poems, “My Lesbian Love,” and “Love Transcending.” The poems appear to be in defense of lesbianism. Neither the stories nor the poems go beyond the limits of candor or are offensive.

The magazine also contains two pages of classified listings, a few of which read as follows:

“Wisconsin Bachelor, Handsome Adult. Needs strong dominant woman to enslave him. Will be humble and obedient to any command. Near Chicago area.”
“New York, New York. Young man, 28 years, fascinated by lingerie, etc., willing to perform for understanding woman, preferably, but not necessarily, older than myself.”
“Bayon, N. J. Are you a naughty girl who should be spanked by mature dominant male? Passive lady, white only, contact me.”
“Melrose Park, 111. Docile male, 29 years, single, is in desperate need of discipline from a domineering woman or women. Interests include discipline, transvestitism, bloomers, spanking, nudism, dominant women, erotic (female) dress.”

It also contains five pages of glossary. The following are a few of the definitions :

“Anilingus. Sexual pleasure obtained from licking the anus.”
“Buggery. Sodomy. Sexual intercourse by males through the anus.”
“Coprophagy. An abnormal affinity for filth, especially feces and for things connected therewith.” “Cunnilingus. The application of the mouth or tongue to the vulva.”
“Fellatio. The act of taking the penis into the mouth.”

[The definition of cunnilingus contained the comforting thought that “This is not considered a perversion by modern medical authorities when performed as pre-coital gesture. It becomes a perversion only when such gesture takes the place of coitus.” A similar explanation follows the definition of fellatio.]

“Necrophilia. Morbid attraction with corpses. Sexual intercourse with a dead body.”
“Pederasty. Sexual intercourse with boys via the anus.”
“Transvestite. One who obtains sexual gratification from dressing in the clothes of the opposite sex.”
“Tribadism. Mutual friction of the genitals, especially the clitoris, between women as a means of achieving a sexual orgasm.”

At the completion of the evidence and arguments I instructed the jury that to return a verdict of guilty on the counts relating to the mailing of the books, magazines and records, they must find that the government proved beyond a reasonable doubt each of the following five elements:

First: That the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest in sex of a particular deviant class or group.

Second: That the material is patently offensive because it goes substantially beyond the limits of candor dealing with matters relating to sex and nudity as established by contemporary community standards.

Third: That the material is utterly without redeeming social value.

Fourth: That the defendants in selling and attempting to sell such material engaged in pandering — that is, in the [613] business of purveying textual or graphic matter openly advertised to appeal to the erotic interests of potential customers.

Fifth: That the particular defendant knew that the material was obscene at the time he caused it to be mailed.

Defendants distributed a number of pamphlets and magazines for male homosexuals. “Hellenic Sun” is of the sunbathing variety. On the front outside and inside covers there are photographs of nude male models with their genitals emphasized, and on the back outside cover there is a front view of two males, both of whom appear to have erections. On the inside cover there is a full front view of a nude male. The magazine contains 32 pages, 20 of which contain photographs of nude men with their genitals prominently displayed. In some of the photographs the pelvis of the model is extended forward in order to emphasize the genitals.

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United States v. Baranov, 293 F. Supp. 610, 1968 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12390 (S.D. Cal. 1968).

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