Obscenity is defined in Media Essentials: A Brief Introduction as a form of expression not protected by the first amendment. The reason for not protecting it is due to its inappropriate information. This information could harm or upset its audience in anyway and this must be avoided. However, where the line should be drawn is not always clear, how much protection does the first amendment give us? What is too much protection and can it go too far? This argument has occurred in two cases: The New York Times Co v. US and Ginzburg v US. Each case has a different outcome with very different problems, and answers the previous questions of what is too much protection and where to draw the line when it comes to obscenity.
Daniel Ellsburg risked his life in the United States to release highly secretive government documents that dealt with the Vitamin War to the public eye. His nights consisted of sneaking one volume at a time …show more content…
However, no one had known about the plans for the Vietnam War except a select few. The court favored the newspapers and defined the material as not obscene. On the other hand, a case that was declared obscene is Ginzburg v US. In this case, Ralph Ginzburg sent out advertisements providing the information of where and how to obtain three different “obscene publications” according to the ITT Chicago-Kent College of Law website. Ginzburg argued that he did not directly send obscene material, rather how to obtain it. However, in a 5-4 Supreme Court decision, the material was found to violate the federal obscene stature. The court argued that the sole reason for the publication was for “pornographic communication”, and decided that materials “containing sexuality in context of art, literature, science is not per se prohibited” because it is shown to advance our knowledge or understanding according to the same
Daniel Ellsburg risked his life in the United States to release highly secretive government documents that dealt with the Vitamin War to the public eye. His nights consisted of sneaking one volume at a time …show more content…
However, no one had known about the plans for the Vietnam War except a select few. The court favored the newspapers and defined the material as not obscene. On the other hand, a case that was declared obscene is Ginzburg v US. In this case, Ralph Ginzburg sent out advertisements providing the information of where and how to obtain three different “obscene publications” according to the ITT Chicago-Kent College of Law website. Ginzburg argued that he did not directly send obscene material, rather how to obtain it. However, in a 5-4 Supreme Court decision, the material was found to violate the federal obscene stature. The court argued that the sole reason for the publication was for “pornographic communication”, and decided that materials “containing sexuality in context of art, literature, science is not per se prohibited” because it is shown to advance our knowledge or understanding according to the same