In re Panchot

Petitioner Larry D. Panchot seeks a writ of habeas corpus against his unlawful detention and restraint of his liberty by the Municipal Court of the City and County of San Francisco, and by the Sheriff of the City and County of San Francisco. 1 The municipal court, after a trial by jury, *107 convicted petitioner of a violation of Penal Code section 311.2 (distributing and/or possessing with intent to distribute obscene matter) 2 and sentenced him to pay a fine of $332 or to serve 30 days in the county jail. [See fn. 4] Petitioner has exhausted his appellate remedies 3 and now seeks relief by writ of habeas corpus 4 in this court.

The substantive activity condemned in this case consisted of selling four packets of photographs depicting nude females posing singly. In these crude photographs, the subjects assume various poses which emphasize various parts of the body. None of the poses, however, depicts any form of sexual activity. 5

*108 The validity of petitioner’s conviction must rest upon a proper judicial application of the legislative definition of the word “obscene” as used in section 311.2. The Legislature has defined “obscene” to mean: “that to the average person, applying…