Convicted sex offender Jerry Lynn Simons appealed his sentence from an Oklahoma Federal Court, and as a result, has won the right to possess images of nude people.
The lower court had imposed post release conditions upon Simons, including one banning him from possessing “any material, legal or illegal, that contains nudity or that depicts or alludes to sexual activity or depicts sexually arousing material.”
Simons argued that the condition is “unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, infringing on what he alleges to be his First Amendment right to view non obscene material that contains nudity.” (This link contains the entire court decision.)
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals declared the condition unconstitutional, as a violation of Simons’ First Amendment rights. The court cited precedent holding that “nudity alone is not enough to make material obscene…” (Jenkins v. Georgia).
The Appeals Court did note that the sentencing court could have banned the defendant from possessing pornographic materials, citing prior cases that have upheld this ban. Therefore, the real issue came down to whether the sentencing court could ban Simons from possessing materials depicting nudity without any additional sexually arousing component. The court did remand the case back to the lower court, so the sentencing judge can now construct a ban that would pass constitutional muster.
Meanwhile, this case has spawned a few funny headlines, including this one on Comedy Central’s web site.
