Among citizens concerned about obscenity in their local communities, one question repeatedly arises: How, as citizens in our area, do we set our community standards? The phrase “community standards” comes from the Supreme Court’s decision in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973). In setting forth the test for obscenity, the Court stated that the issues of whether the material has patently offensive representations of sexual conduct and whether the material appeals to the prurient interest should be judged by the community standards. This phrase was an attempt to counter the suggestion that obscenity should be judged by “national standards.” The Court noted that “it is not realistic nor constitutionally sound to read the First Amendment as requiring that the people of Maine or Mississippi accept public depiction of conduct found tolerable in Las Vegas or New York City.” Through this statement the Court realized that it would be unworkable to try to determine acceptability on a basis as broad as the entire nation. The concept of the “community” merely provided a more workable vehicle for such a determination.

Community standards cannot be discussed in a vacuum. The legal concept of community standards is not relevant only during an obscenity prosecution, but when registered voters claim victory in various areans in your city.. As a legal concept, a community may be the state, the county or the city. -- registered voters. The “community” for purposes of an obscenity prosecution may be defined by statute or by case law. If it is not specifically defined, the court may instruct the jury that they should consider the standards of the geographic area from which the jury pool is drawn which prompts your hard work before court action.

The parameters of this legal concept means that a community should strive to improve the quality of life by refusing to accept or even tolerate potentially obscene issues or material. A community that makes it unprofitable for business to sell or rent pornographic or obscene material will make great strides in establishing a standard of community non-acceptance for such material. Policing and elected authorities should not be offended by citizen's intervention of organized groups to establish public policy, after all, the community contains registered voters.

The best way to firmly establish community standards is along with consistent enforcement of the obscenity laws. Businesses that distribute sexually oriented material will clearly see the types of material that will be accepted by the community and those that will not. Communities like Cincinnati, Ohio, that have eliminated the distribution of obscene material have done so in large part because of consistent law enforcement efforts. This model can be replicated in any community and every community can maintain an environment free of illegal obscene material Establish Your Community Standard.