Nico Jacobellis

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Charge:	Obsenity Related Charge
Sentence:	"$2,500 fine"
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	1960
Year Convicted:	1960
Year Cleared:	1964
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Ohio
County or Region of Crime:	Cuyahoga
City of Crime:	Cleveland Heights
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Nico Jacobellis operated a theater in Cleveland Heights, Ohio and he was wrongly convicted on June 3, 1960 of obscenity for showing the motion picture "Les Amants" ("The Lovers") that had a single explicit sex scene. After Jenkins conviction by a panel of three judges he was sentenced to pay a fine of $2,500. After the Ohio Court of Appeals and Supreme Court affirmed his convictions he filed a federal habeas petition. On June 22, 1964 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Jacobellis' conviction in ruling, "We conclude that the film is not obscene and that the judgment must accordingly be reversed." Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 (1964)"
Conviction Caused By:	Trial court judge didn't instruct the jury on the proper standard of what constitute obscenity under the U.S. Constitution.
Innocence Proved By:	"On June 22, 1964 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Jacobellis' conviction in ruling, "We conclude that the film is not obscene and that the judgment must accordingly be reversed." Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 (1964)"
Defendant Aided By:	Trial judge erroneously failed to dismiss the charges because the film didn't constitute obscenity under the federal constitution.
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:
Information Source 1:	"Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 (1964) (Brennan, J., plurality opinion) (Reversing obscenity conviction based on film that contained a single explicit sex scene.)"
Information Location 1:	"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15356452945994377133&q=Jacobellis+v.+Ohio,+378+U.S.+184+%281964%29&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48"
Information Source 2:	"State v. Jacobellis, 115 Ohio App. 226, 175 N. E. 2d 123 (Ohio Ct. of Appeals, 1961)"
Information Location 2:	"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9765579270841154784&q=115+Ohio+App.+226,+175+N.+E.+2d+123&hl=en&as_sdt=4,36"
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Nico Jacobellis

Charge:

Obsenity Related Charge

Sentence:

"$2,500 fine"

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

1960

Year Convicted:

1960

Year Cleared:

1964

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Ohio

County or Region of Crime:

Cuyahoga

City of Crime:

Cleveland Heights

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Trial court judge didn't instruct the jury on the proper standard of what constitute obscenity under the U.S. Constitution.

Innocence Proved By:

"On June 22, 1964 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Jacobellis' conviction in ruling, "We conclude that the film is not obscene and that the judgment must accordingly be reversed." Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 (1964)"

Defendant Aided By:

Trial judge erroneously failed to dismiss the charges because the film didn't constitute obscenity under the federal constitution.

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 (1964) (Brennan, J., plurality opinion) (Reversing obscenity conviction based on film that contained a single explicit sex scene.)"

Information Location 1:

"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15356452945994377133&q=Jacobellis+v.+Ohio,+378+U.S.+184+%281964%29&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48"

Information Source 2:

"State v. Jacobellis, 115 Ohio App. 226, 175 N. E. 2d 123 (Ohio Ct. of Appeals, 1961)"

Information Location 2:

"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9765579270841154784&q=115+Ohio+App.+226,+175+N.+E.+2d+123&hl=en&as_sdt=4,36"

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