How Prevalent is Censorship in U.S.?

[dofe]

@Grotonian

And I’m familiar with most of the major supreme court cases that control speech and the press. (Although I guess I don’t know why some consensual adult porn is “free expression” and some is forbidden.)

That’s because some pornography is considered “obsene” and thus not protected by the First Amendment. Now, when is some expression obscene while others are not? Courts ultimately make that determination, based on the three-part test set out by the Supreme Court.*

@Grotonian

But I think some strange laws exist at the local and state levels, and I was hoping Dopers had some examples. (I remember years ago a cop somewhere in the US asked passersby at a mall if a kid’s shirt was offensive. When they said, “yes,” he ticketed the kid for obscenity because it was obscene by “community standards,” i.e. the passersby.)

One of the prongs of the three-part test I mentioned above considers “community standards” in determining whether the average person would consider the material appeals to the “prurient” interest – so yes, community standards are a valid factor when considering whether expression is protected by the First Amendment.

*Trivia note: when the Supreme Court first began taking cert and reviewing the obscenity cases, the law clerks had to set up film projectors (this was pre-VHS days) for the Justices’ viewing (cite: my former con law professor).