The Mailed Circulars

A publisher was accused of using the mail to send out a book and advertising circulars that the government called obscene. A federal law makes mailing obscene material a crime. A jury convicted him on four counts. He argues the law breaks the constitutional guarantee of free speech and press, because it punishes publishing without any proof that the material would lead to unlawful acts. The question is whether obscene material is protected speech at all.