Memoirs v. Massachusetts
"Memoirs v. Massachusetts" is a landmark Supreme Court case that addressed the definition of obscenity in relation to the First Amendment's protection of free speech. The case centered on John Cleland's erotic novel "Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure," which had faced obscenity charges due to its explicit content. The Supreme Court, led by Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., established that for material to be deemed obscene, it must meet all three criteria set forth in the earlier case Roth v. United States. This ruling underscored the importance of free expression and limited the government's ability to ban literature solely on the grounds of obscenity, ensuring that only works that fulfill all three Roth tests can be censored. By clarifying these standards, "Memoirs v. Massachusetts" reinforced the principle that artistic and literary works enjoy robust protections under the First Amendment. This case remains significant in discussions about the balance between freedom of speech and the regulation of obscenity in modern society.
Memoirs v. Massachusetts
Date: March 31, 1966
Citation: 383 U.S. 413
Issue: Obscenity
Significance: The Supreme Court strengthened the protection of freedom of speech by restricting the scope of what was obscene.
Writing for a six-vote majority, Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., ruled that each of the three elements of the national obscenity test announced in Roth v. United States (1957) had to be met for a book to be declared obscene. John Cleland’s eighteenth century erotic classic, Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (1749), which was reprinted during the 1960’s, dealt with a prostitute’s sexual adventures and had been judged obscene in the early 1800’s. However, because it did not meet all three Roth tests, it could not be banned. This decision strengthened the First Amendment protection of freedom of speech by restricting the government’s power to ban allegedly obscene materials to only those cases in which the three tests of Roth could be satisfied simultaneously.
