Stanley v. Georgia

Summary

The Supreme Court held that the First and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit criminalizing the mere private possession of obscene material in the home. The Court distinguished private possession from public distribution and held that the state's interests in regulating obscenity did not justify intruding upon the individual's right to receive information and maintain privacy. Justice Stewart concurred in the result, concluding that the films were unlawfully seized under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Holdings

1. The First and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit making the mere private possession of obscene material a crime. Although the government retains broad authority to regulate the public distribution of obscenity, that authority does not extend to private possession in the individual's home.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the First and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit Georgia from criminalizing the knowing private possession of obscene material in the home.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded