Ray Guhn Case to Depend on Community Standards

[gonzo]

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. - Circuit Court Judge Ron Swanson ruled Tuesday that the community standards of a four-county area will be used in determining whether videos Ray Guhn produced are obscene.

While Swanson rejected the grounds for the case's dismissal, which were brought by Guhn's attorney Larry Walters, the judge granted Walters' request that jurors use the community standards of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties, instead of those of only Santa Rosa County. The effect of this ruling was to nullify the prosecution's earlier transfer of the case from Esacambia to Santa Rosa County.

This will benefit the defense, Walters said.

"This is a victory and an important ruling for our case," Walters told AVN Online on Wednesday. "We are slowly chipping away at this concept that county standards are appropriate for the Internet. While we believe it should be the nation or the state, at least we received a larger area than just one county. We argued that it would be too small of an area without enough diversity."

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[Rcourt64]

Escambia is one of them places where if ya stash to many dirty mags under ya bed, u'll get jailed.

But I couldn't agree more with this Walters fella...
Prosecuting using county laws for Internet businesses is old news . Adult need updated laws, rules and regs.
The Internet is its own world now, it needs its own law

[Hammer]

I can't say that the four counties they're using are much better than Escambia.

[Toby]

Originally Posted by Hammer

I can't say that the four counties they're using are much better than Escambia.

The only thing it does is give the defense a larger number of potential places to use as examples of similar content being openly available.

It's a step, albeit a very tiny one, in the right direction.

[RawAlex]

The only good (but expensive) news in all of this is if they lose, they have a ready made appeal that goes all the way to the surpreme court.

Essentially, the internet in and of itself is a community, with it's own standards and such. Further, the only way to access the internet normally is to enter into a contract and purchase / rent / barter for service. Those contracts can only be entered into by adults.

The internet isn't like putting a sex video store next to an elementary school. The only children in this neighborhood are here with their parents permission and support.

I have a feeling that this one is going to take a long, long time to come out in the wash.

[Toby]

Originally Posted by RawAlex

...I have a feeling that this one is going to take a long, long time to come out in the wash.

The wheels of justice do seem to move rather slowly.

What I find most disturbing is that even if in the end they are all found not guilty on all charges, which I think will indeed be the case, these guys have allready suffered irreparable harm to their lives and livlihoods.