Evolution of Obscenity Definitions

Pre-Roth Definition: Regina v. Hicklin (1868)): "Whether the tendency of the matter charged as obscenity is "to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences" which could be judged "by the effect of isolated passages upon the most susceptible persons."

Roth Definition: "Whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant them of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest."

Memoirs v. Massachusetts Definition (plurality opinion): Interpreting the Roth definition as elaborated in subsequent cases, a plurality of the Court held that to satisfy the definition of obscenity "three elements must coalesce: it must be established that (a) the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest in sex; (b) the material is patently offensive because it affronts contemporary community standards relating to the description or representation of sexual matters; and (c) the material is utterly without redeeming social value."

Miller Definition: Material is obscene if : (1) "the average person, applying contemporary community standards would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;" (2) "the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law;" and (3) "the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."

Child Pornography (New York v. Ferber)
To be punishable as child pornography: (1) the material must visually depict sexual conduct by an actual minor child; and (2) the sexual conduct must be specifically defined by the applicable state or federal child pornography law.