3rd Circuit ruling in Extreme obscenity case praised by director of Reagan porn commission, now ADF CEO

PHILADELPHIA - ADF President Alan Sears, who served as executive director of the U.S. Attorney General's Commission on Pornography under President Ronald Reagan, hailed today's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit reversing a district court decision and upholding federal obscenity laws.

"The First Amendment was never intended to protect obscene materials that further violent crimes against women and children," said Sears, a former federal prosecutor who held various posts in the departments of Justice and Interior during the Reagan Administration and who was director of the U.S. Attorney General's Commission on Pornography in the 1980s.

The ruling came in the federal government's appeal of the dismissal of an indictment against Extreme Associates, an enterprise that produces extremely hardcore pornography, including scenes of violence, urination, and simulated rape.

"If this case would have been lost, it could have brought federal prosecution of hardcore obscenity to a halt in that circuit.  The loss is a 'lump of coal' in the stocking of those like the ACLU who argue that even such degradation as the type produced by Extreme Associates--and even child pornography--is 'protected' by our Constitution."

The appeals court reversed a district court decision that had concluded federal obscenity laws violate the privacy rights of pornographers based on its reading of Lawrence v. Texas.  In today's opinion, the appellate court wrote, "We are satisfied that the Supreme Court has decided that the federal statutes regulating the distribution of obscenity do not violate any constitutional right to privacy."  The full text of today's opinion can be read here.

Sears said he believes it is unlikely that the U.S. Supreme Court will accept the case if it is appealed.  "Obscenity law has been well settled for over 30 years," he said.

ADF funded a friend-of-the-court brief at the 3rd Circuit in the case, United States of America v. Extreme Associates.  The parties to the brief were ADF, Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, and Sears individually as the former head of the U.S. Attorney General's Commission on Pornography.  The amicus brief can be read here.

Read more about the case and access resources on protecting children and communities against the secondary effects of pornography and sexually oriented businesses at www.communitydefense.org.

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.