Lawyers for Red Rose File Motion to Dismiss Obscenity Charges

PITTSBURGH — Attorneys for Karen Fletcher, aka Red Rose, have filed a pretrial motion petitioning the court to dismiss the obscenity indictment against Fletcher for disseminating six allegedly obscene fictional stories on her website describing the torture and sexual abuse of children.

Fletcher counsel Lawrence G. Walters argues that obscenity laws are unconstitutional as applied to purely textual works.

“This case is a little unique,” Walters told XBIZ. “We don’t believe the content at issue here meets the threshold for obscene material, so we’re asking the court to look at this before trial. We must protect Fletcher’s 1st Amendment rights of free speech; her works have obvious literary value.”

In the motion obtained by XBIZ, Lawrence argues that text is fundamentally different than pictures, because people process text differently. The defense is prepared to offer testimony from expert witnesses to this effect.

At issue in this case are six allegedly obscene works that were available on Red-Rose-Stories.com only for paid members, of which Fletcher claims there were only 29.

“Since the site in question is a membership site, no one could ‘accidentally’ stumble upon these stories; anyone could have stopped reading them before they were offended and there were warnings on the page,” Walters said. “Red Rose’s readers sought out this kind of material.”

While textual works have been ruled to be obscene by the courts, they all come before the Miller vs. California ruling in 1973, which sets the definition of obscenity against community standards. Lawrence said the U.S. Supreme Court has not issued a definitive ruling on whether or not the written word can be judged obscene.

“…Over the past 34 years, the Government has never sought to prosecute speech composed exclusively from the written word,” Lawrence said in the motion. “The absence of any post-1973 prosecutions under the federal obscenity statutes involving non-pictorial works reflects a sea change in the manner in which American society…views obscenity in a non-visual context.

“Such glaring lack of text-only obscenity cases further reflects a demonstrative evolution in community standards throughout the country, with respect to literary works, and recognition of the inherent serious value contained in such works.”

Additionally, the defense has filed a motion to dismiss the charges based on strict scrutiny. In order to overcome the presumption that content-based regulations are invalid under the 1st Amendment, the content must survive a strict judicial review, which requires the government to demonstrate that the law (in this case, obscenity law) is narrowly tailored to promote a compelling government interest.

While the 1st Amendment does not protect obscene works, all works are presumed to be protected until a judge or jury finds them to be obscene. Walters argues that since the stories have not been formally judged to be obscene, they are presumed to be protected. Walters said the government has put the “cart before the horse.”

“The government has to show that there is a compelling government interest in the expression that they are trying to prohibit,” Walters said. “The burden is on them to prove that these solely textual ‘fantasy’ stories fall outside the realm of constitutional protection. The government has to justify the obscenity laws. This case urges them to take a fresh look.”

Lawrence said that the government will file a written response to the motion and the court will set oral arguments.

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Fleshy to Launch Interactive Cam Site 'Eremote'

Male pleasure brand Fleshy has announced that it will launch an interactive, bidirectional cam site next month called Eremote.

XBIZ LA Show Introduces New 'Crib Crawl' Feature

XBIZ is pleased to announce that the 2025 edition of its flagship conference, the XBIZ Show, will debut a brand-new feature: Crib Crawl, offering attendees the chance to meet and greet representatives from leading brands and organizations in dedicated suites at the host venue.

Pre-Nominations Now Open for 2025 TEAs

The pre-nomination period for the 2025 Trans Erotica Awards (TEAs) is now open.

Byborg Invests $22.35M in PLBY Group

Luxembourg-based Byborg Enterprises SA is investing $22.35 million in Playboy parent company PLBY Group.

Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments on Texas AV Law in January

The United States Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for Free Speech Coalition's challenge to Texas’ age verification law to take place Wednesday, Jan. 15.

2025 XBIZ Exec Awards Nominees for Online Industry Announced

XBIZ is pleased to announce the nominees for the online industry edition of the 2025 XBIZ Exec Awards, set to be presented as part of the annual XBIZ Honors ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 15 in conjunction with the XBIZ 2025 conference.

Project 2025 Leader Claims Big Tech Companies 'Deliberately Fuel Pornography Addiction' Among Men

Heritage Foundation president and Project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts published on Wednesday the text of a speech in which he persists with his past claim that “predatory Big Tech corporations” are “deliberately fueling pornography addiction” among young men.

FSC Petitions 10th Circuit for Review of Utah AV Dismissal

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) on Wednesday petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to review a decision handed down earlier this month by a three-judge panel of the same appeals court, which denied FSC the right to challenge Utah’s controversial age verification law by suing state officials.

MyAdultAttorney's Corey D. Silverstein to Hold Post-Election Legal Impact Webinar

Industry attorney Corey D. Silverstein will hold a “Legal Impact” webinar titled “We Have a New U.S. President: Legal and Community Implications” on Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. PST.

Pornhub Shuts Down Access in Oklahoma Over Age Verification

Aylo began geo-blocking Pornhub across Oklahoma on Tuesday, three days in advance of the state’s new age verification law, SB 1959, taking effect.

Show More