Deck 4: Sexual Expression and Violence

Question 1

Government agencies have no authority to regulate or limit obscenity, but they can ban indecency in its entirety.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The Supreme Court has ruled that material deemed to be "obscene" or determined to be "child pornography" receives no protection under the First Amendment.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The Miller Test for identifying obscenity abandons the concept of a national definition for obscenity in favor of letting communities establish their own standards.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The Supreme Court has ruled that nudity by itself automatically places material in the category of "obscenity," regardless of the material's other qualities.

Question 5

The first attempt to regulate indecent or sexually explicit material in the United States was the

A) the Anti-Pornography Act of 1795
B) the Tariff Act of 1842
C) the Comstock Act of 1873
D) the Roth Act of 1952
E) the Miller Act of 1973

Question 6

The 1989 case of Sable Communications v. FCC, which dealt with the FCC's authority to regulate "phone-sex" services, resulted in what ruling?

A) the court threw out the case because the FCC has no authority to regulate communication by telephone
B) the court threw out the case because Sable Communications was located in California, where "phone-sex" services were legal
C) because "phone-sex" was considered indecency rather than obscenity, it could not be prohibited in its entirety, but could be regulated
D) the federal law was constitutional and could be enforced because it conformed with standards established by the Miller Test

Question 7

The Comstock Act of 1873 dealt with the regulation of obscenity as transmitted through which medium or method?

A) television and radio
B) telephone "dial-a-porn" or phone sex
C) motion pictures
D) U.S. mail
E) on-line computer services

Question 8

Which of the following was the major weakness of the 1873 Comstock Act?

A) it was never signed into law by the president
B) it applied only to broadcasting and not to other media
C) it attempted to control obscenity but did not define it
D) it failed to meet the Supreme Court's "clear and present danger" test
E) it did not use the Supreme Court standards as established by the Miller Test

Question 9

Although the film debated in the 1952 case of Joseph Burstyn Inc. v. Wilson was not accused of being "obscene," the case is still cited in many modern-day obscenity cases for what reason?

A) it was the first case prosecuted under the 1873 Comstock Act
B) it placed materials sent through the mail in the category of "media," similar to newspapers, television, and film
C) it placed videotape in the same category as motion picture film
D) it was the first application of the First Amendment to any form of entertainment
E) it was the first case in which material was judged according to the Miller Test

Question 10

The case of Miller v. California is significant for what reason?

A) it was the first case in which the First Amendment was applied to any form of entertainment
B) it solidified the differences in regulation of sexual content for adult audiences as opposed to under-age audiences
C) it provided a new standard for evaluating future obscenity cases
D) it extended First Amendment protection to radio but not to television
E) it banned indecency on the radio

Question 11

A government study of obscenity, ordered by President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s, resulted in what recommendations?

A) the government should declare a "war on obscenity" and use whatever resources were necessary to defeat it
B) a new constitutional amendment would be necessary before obscenity could be legally eliminated
C) suspending some civil rights and constitutional protections would be necessary because of the known dangers of obscenity
D) the government should give up trying to eliminate obscenity in its entirely, and should instead concentrate on keeping it out of the hands of minors and encouraging local school systems to develop comprehensive sex education programs
E) obscenity was a legitimate form of art and was therefore worthy of First Amendment protection and acceptance in society

Question 12

The Greek term meaning "writing about prostitutes" gives us what modern-day term often used to refer to books, magazines, films, or videotapes of a sexual nature?

A) obscenity
B) indecency
C) pornography
D) smut
E) filth

Question 13

A legal principle that allows communities to set different standards for difference audiences (i.e. what may be acceptable for adults can still be labeled as "obscene" when shown to children) is known by what term?

A) the Comstock Act
B) non-obscene sexual expression
C) variable obscenity
D) the slippery slope
E) content neutrality

Question 14

Based on a Supreme Court definition, material of a sexual nature that is so offensive that it deserves no First Amendment protection is known as

A) pornography
B) smut
C) indecency
D) obscenity
E) fighting words

Question 15

Based on a Supreme Court definition, material of a sexual nature that may offend some but does not rise to the level of obscenity is known as

A) non-obscene sexual expression
B) smut
C) indecency
D) obscenity
E) fighting words

Question 16

Based on a Supreme Court definition, there is a category of speech that includes non-obscene expression as well as profanity and references to bodily functions. This category is known as

A) pornography
B) smut
C) indecency
D) obscenity
E) fighting words