Virginia v. American Booksellers Association, Inc., et al. (484 U.S. 383)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided January 25, 1988 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 484 U.S. 383 · 108 S. Ct. 636
- Decided
- January 25, 1988
- Term
- October Term 1987
- Vote
- 8–0
- Majority author
- Justice Brennan
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Certification to/from a lower court
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Brennan delivered the opinion of the Court. The courts below declared unconstitutional the following Virginia statute: “It shall be unlawful for any person ... to knowingly display for commercial purpose in a manner whereby juveniles may examine and peruse” visual or written material that “depicts sexually explicit nudity, sexual conduct or sadomasochistic abuse and which is harmful to juveniles.” Va. Code § 18.2-391(a) (Supp. 1987). The unique factual and procedural setting of this case leads us to conclude that an authoritative construction of the Virginia statute by the Virginia Supreme Court would substantially aid our review of this constitutional holding, and might well determine the case entirely. Accordingly, we certify two questions to the Virginia Supreme Court. I — I In 1968, this Court held consitutional a state prohibition on the sale to those under 17 of materials deemed “harmful to juveniles.” Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U. S. 629, 643 (1968). The next year, Virginia enacted a similar statute. The Virginia Code’s current definition of “harmful to juveniles” is a modification of the Miller definition of obscenity, adapted for juveniles. Miller v. California, 413 U. S. 15, 24 (1973). The statute reads in relevant part: “‘Harmful to Juveniles’ means that quality of any description or presentation, in whatever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual…
Excerpt of a 28,732-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.