ACLU * ACLU * ACLU * ACLU * ACLU * ACLU * ACLU * ACLU * ACLU
 STATEMENT * STATEMENT * STATEMENT * STATEMENT * STATEMENT

2 Live Crew Conviction;
ACLU to Appeal in Florida Case


For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 3, 1990

  Record store owner Charles Freeman of Fort Lauderdale was
convicted today by an all-white jury of selling the 2 Live Crew
album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be," which had earlier been found
legally obscene by a federal district judge in Miami. The ACLU of
Florida represented Freeman.

  The trial, which lasted only three days, was significantly
shortened because the judge did not allow the defense to offer as
evidence other materials distributed throughout Broward County
that were just as sexually explicit and which the community
tolerated.

  "This conviction demonstrates the problems inherent in using
community standards for deciding what is and what is not
protected by the First Amendment," said Ira Glasser, the
executive director of ACLU. "Even though millions of people have
bought this record, an all-white jury of six has decided what the
rest of us should be able to see, hear and enjoy."

  "This conviction totally undermines the core value of the First
Amendment that even the most offensive expression deserves
protection," Mr. Glasser said. "The conviction will certainly
fuel the zeal of the self-appointed protectors of public
morality. We are likely to see more of these prosecutions. The
only question is who will be next."

--endit--