Legal Definitions - contemporary community standards

Contemporary community standards refers to the prevailing norms, values, and sensitivities within a specific geographic area at a particular point in time. In legal contexts, this benchmark is primarily used by a jury or judge (known as a fact-finder) to determine whether certain material is legally obscene.

When assessing obscenity, the fact-finder considers whether the material, taken as a whole, appeals to a prurient interest (an unhealthy or excessive interest in sexual matters) and is patently offensive (clearly and obviously offensive) according to what the average person in that specific community would find acceptable. These standards are not uniform across an entire country; they can vary significantly from one town, city, or state to another, reflecting local cultural differences, and they also evolve over time.

• Example 1: Local Library Book Challenge

  Imagine a group of parents in a small, religiously conservative town challenges a young adult novel in their public library, arguing that its depiction of sexual themes makes it obscene. If the case goes to court, a jury drawn from that specific town would be asked to apply the contemporary community standards of their local area. They would decide if the book's content is patently offensive and appeals to a prurient interest for the average person in that particular community at that time, rather than relying on a national standard or the standards of a larger, more liberal city.

• Example 2: Art Exhibition Controversy

  Consider an art gallery in a bustling metropolitan area that hosts an exhibition featuring a sculpture with explicit nudity and suggestive imagery. While some art critics praise its artistic merit, a segment of the public complains, asserting the artwork is obscene. Should legal action be pursued, a jury from that metropolitan area would evaluate the sculpture based on the contemporary community standards prevalent among their diverse urban population. Their interpretation of what constitutes "patently offensive" might differ significantly from a jury in a more rural or traditional community, reflecting the broader social and artistic norms accepted in their specific locale.

• Example 3: Streaming Service Content

  A new streaming service releases a television series globally, which includes scenes of graphic sexual content. While the series is widely available, a prosecutor in a particular U.S. state decides to bring obscenity charges against the service for distributing the content within their jurisdiction. In this scenario, a jury in that specific state would be tasked with determining if the series is obscene according to the contemporary community standards of their state. Even though the content is distributed digitally and accessible everywhere, the legal assessment would be grounded in the prevailing norms and sensitivities of the community from which the jury is drawn, as understood at the time of the trial.