Wheeler v. State

A jury in the Criminal Court of Baltimore, presided over by Judge Solomon Liss,1 decided that the magazine entitled “Linda Lovelace, the Star of Deep Throat” was, under contemporary community standards, obscene. In so doing, the jury convicted John W. Wheeler of violating Md. Ann. Code art. 27, § 418, and Judge Liss imposed a fine upon Wheeler of five hundred dollars ($500).

Wheeler has appealed to this Court where he challenges the constitutionality of section 418 on equal protection grounds, and he also contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction because there was…