I’ll have the regular news post up later today, but this deserves a post of its own: Christopher Handley, an Iowa man who collects manga, is being prosecuted under the PROTECT Act simply for owning manga that the government claims are obscene. ICv2 has a good summary of the case, plus a follow-up, and here’s the official press release from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which is consulting for the defense. Ero-manga publisher Simon Jones gives his take at the Icarus blog (NSFW).
The manga in question allegedly include drawings (not photographs) of minors having sex. However, the judge in this case has ruled that Handley cannot be prosecuted under the section of the act dealing specifically with images of minors. Instead, the prosecution must prove that the manga is obscene under what lawyers call the Miller test. Here’s ICv2’s summary:
(1) would the average person find that the material appeals to the prurient interest; (2) does the material depict, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable state law; (3) does the work, taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. The jury will have to find that the material fits all three of the criteria in order to convict.
There are several chilling things about this case. For one thing, Handley faces up to 20 years in prison simply for owning this manga, not for distributing it.
And here’s the story of how he came to be prosecuted: A postal inspector opened a package that was being shipped to Handley from Japan, decided that some of the manga in the package was objectionable, and got a search warrant. He then packed everything back up and allowed it to be delivered to the local post office. Handley, who was not informed that the package had been opened, picked it up and went home—followed by “various law enforcement officers (according to ICv2), who seized his collection of 1,200 volumes of manga as well as DVDs, videotapes, etc. The charges concern just a few volumes of manga.
Ali T. Kokmen, marketing manager for Del Rey manga, sent out a special edition of the Del Rey newsletter on Friday urging manga readers to read up on the case and consider making a donation to the CLBDF.
I’ll leave you with a quote from CBLDF legal counsel Burton Joseph:
In the lengthy time in which I have represented CBLDF and its clients, I have never encountered a situation where criminal prosecution was brought against a private consumer for possession of material for personal use in his own home. This prosecution has profound implications in limiting the First Amendment for art and artists, and comics in particular, that are on the cutting edge of creativity. It misunderstands the nature of avant-garde art in its historical perspective and is a perversion of anti-obscenity laws.
Update: Tom Spurgeon makes the excellent point that it’s all about the law, not the personalities involved. (H/t: David Welsh.)
Great round-up! Tom Spurgeon posted some thoughts on the case over at The Comics Reporter today too: http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/a_comment_on_the_cbldf_consulting_on_the_christopher_handley_case/
Brigid,
I think this is a case that they will have to win on appeal. Historically, American juries have not been able to see any artist value in pornographic comics. It seems that jury pools are made up of people who think that comics are for kids and kids only. Anything else is just sick and wrong.
I wish they would be exact about the books involved. My fear is that the guy ordered a book and out of 200 or so pages of regular porn there is one story of lolicon or shota porn. That would make the case a nightmare.
I know the postal service has the right to inspect the mail. But I didn’t think they would flip through a book page by page. That’s scary.
I plan on donating to the CBLDF and following the case closely.