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Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188 (1977)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188 (1977)
Marks v. United States No. 75-708 Argued November 1-2, 1976 Decided March 1, 1977 430 U.S. 188
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Petitioners were convicted of transporting obscene materials in violation of a federal statute. The conduct that gave rise to the charge occurred before Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, was decided, announcing new standards for "isolat[ing] `hard core’ pornography from expression protected by the First Amendment," id. at 29.
Held: The Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment precludes retroactive application to petitioners of the Miller standards, to the extent that those standards may impose criminal liability for conduct not punishable under the standards announced in Memoirs v. Massachusetts, 383 U.S. 413. Bouie v. City of Columbia, 378 U.S. 347. Specifically, petitioners are entitled to jury instructions requiring the jury to acquit unless it finds that the materials involved are "utterly without redeeming social value." At the same time, any constitutional principle announced in Miller that would serve to benefit petitioners must be applied in their case. Hamling v. United States, 418 U.S. 87, 102. Pp. 189-197.
520 F.2d 913, reversed and remanded.
POWELL, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J., and WHITE, BLACKMUN, and REHNQUIST, JJ., joined. BRENNAN, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which STEWART and MARSHALL, JJ., joined, post, p. 197. STEVENS, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in par, post, p. 198.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188 (1977) in 430 U.S. 188 Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=FEZMJUP1LW6B2DC.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188 (1977), in 430 U.S. 188, Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=FEZMJUP1LW6B2DC.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188 (1977). cited in 1977, 430 U.S. 188. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=FEZMJUP1LW6B2DC.
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