United States v. William Pinkus, Doing Business as "Rosslyn News Company" and "Kamera"

On this appeal from a conviction on 11 counts of mailing obscene material in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1461 (1970), we are presented with nine claims of error, of which several require extended consideration. They direct our attention to the adequacy and propriety of the jury instructions and the trial court’s refusal to admit in evidence for jury viewing two full length motion pictures which are said to be box office successes, if not smash hits, at least with some audiences. We conclude that the trial was fairly conducted, without reversible error, and the judgment and sentence must be affirmed.

At trial, the government’s case-in-chief consisted of the introduction of the obscene materials and the reading of a stipulation that they were voluntarily and intentionally mailed by the appellant with knowledge of the content and with the intention that they be for the personal use of the recipient. It was also stipulated that none had been mailed to children.

The defense introduced expert and survey evidence to prove that the materials did not appeal to prurient interests or exceed community standards, and that they had redeeming social value. In rebuttal, the government called a…