Commonwealth v. Holmes
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
The defendant was indicted at the Circuit Court of Common Pleas sitting in this county, for publishing a lewd and obscene print, contained in a certain book entitled “Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure,” and also for publishing the same book. The indictment contained three counts, charging the publishing and delivering of the print to three several persons, and three counts alleging the publishing and delivering of the book to the same three persons.
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The defendant was indicted at the Circuit Court of Common Pleas sitting in this county, for publishing a lewd and obscene print, contained in a certain book entitled “Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure,” and also for publishing the same book. The indictment contained three counts, charging the publishing and delivering of the print to three several persons, and three counts alleging the publishing and delivering of the book to the same three persons. The second count alleged that the defendant, “ being a scandalous and evil-disposed person, and contriving, devising and intending, the morals as…
1Opinion of the CourtParker, C. J.
The second and fifth counts in this indictment are certainly good; for it can never be required that an obscene book and picture should be displayed upon the records of the Court; which must be done if the description in these counts is insufficient. This would be to require that the public itself should give permanency and notoriety to indecency, in order to punish it. These counts being good, it is unnecessary to give an opinion upon the others; since, if there be good and bad counts in the same indictment, and a general verdict of guilty returned, the verdict must be applied to the good…
2Cited by9 opinions
- Roth v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1957
- Brown v. Kingsley Books, Inc.New York Court of Appeals · 1956
- President of Middletown Bank v. MagillSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1823
- Home Box Office, Inc. v. WilkinsonDistrict Court, D. Utah · 1982
- State v. SmithSupreme Court of Vermont · 1900
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