1. The characteristic or state of being morally abhorrent or socially taboo, esp. as a result of referring to or depicting sexual or excretory functions. [Cases: Constitutional Law 82(10), 90.4; Obscenity
1. C.J.S. Constitutional Law §§ 464, 546, 631, 635–637, 639, 644, 646–648; Obscenity§§ 1–8.]
2. Something (such as an expression or act) that has this characteristic. See CONTEMPORARY COMMUNITY STANDARD. Cf. INDECENCY.
“Obscenity is not deemed to be protected by the First Amendment, and the operative legal tests for obscenity are spongy and leave much to the vagaries of juries asked to evaluate expert testimony on literary merit, offensiveness, and other unmeasurables.” Richard A. Posner, Law and Literature: A Misunderstood Relation 329 (1988).
commercialized obscenity. Obscenity produced and marketed for sale to the public.
