The State of Ames prohibits the sale of “obscene” material,…
The State of Ames prohibits the sale of “obscene” material, defined by statute as any material “that, considered as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, and lacking serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific merit, depicts sex in a patently offensive manner according to contemporary community standards.” Bill Bookseller is convicted of violating Ames’s ordinance for selling “Girls Gone Crazy” videos in his bookstore, which feature amateurs posing nude for a video crew. Bill appeals his conviction. A court of appeals would likely: