Redrup v. New York
United States Supreme Court
386 U.S. 767 (1967)
- Written by Denise McGimsey, JD
Facts
Redrup (defendant) worked at a New York City newsstand. After a plainclothes police officer purchased from Redrup two books, Lust Pool and Shame Agent, the state of New York (plaintiff) charged Redrup with violating a state criminal law. Redrup was convicted, and the conviction was affirmed on appeal. Austin (defendant) ran a bookstore and newsstand in Kentucky. After a woman purchased from the store two magazines, High Heels and Spree, the State of Kentucky (plaintiff) charged Austin with violating a state criminal law. Austin was convicted. The State of Arkansas (plaintiff) filed a civil action to have the magazines Gent, Swank, Bachelor, Modern Man, Cavalcade, Gentleman, Ace, and Sir (defendants) declared obscene, their distribution enjoined, and copies of them destroyed. The state prevailed, and the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed. All three cases were accepted for review by the United States Supreme Court: Redrup and Austin for consideration of the scienter requirement in obscenity prosecutions and Gent for consideration of the constitutionality of Arkansas’s anti-obscenity statute.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per Curiam)
Dissent (Harlan, J.)
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