Porn Valley- In a case closely watched by the adult entertainment industry, a federal judge threw out an obscenity indictment against the owners of a Chatsworth company that produced a “horror-porn” film.
Federal obscenity laws are unconstitutional in the context of the case against Extreme Associates, U.S. District Court Judge Gary L. Lancaster ruled Thursday.
Extreme Associates owner Rob Zicari hailed the dismissal as a victory for civil liberties.
“In no way does the court condone pornography — what they’re saying is that adults have the right to view what they want in the privacy of their own home,” Zicari said.
“It kind of restores my faith in the system. There are still judges that care about our rights and our freedoms and aren’t afraid to make controversial decisions.”
Mary Beth Buchanan, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, said Friday that she may appeal the decision.
“We continue to believe that the federal obscenity statutes are valid and constitutional,” Buchanan said.
The case centered around the film “Forced Entry,” a film starring and directed by Zicari’s wife, Janet Romano, under the name Lizzie Borden. The company’s Web site bills the film as a “stunningly disturbing look at a serial killer, Satanic rituals, and the depths of human depravity.”
“It’s horror-porn,” Zicari said. “At least it has a plot.”
Zicari and Romano were indicted in Pittsburgh in 2003 in what was considered a major test case of federal obscenity laws. They argued that federal obscenity statutes violated their constitutional right to liberty and privacy.
Members of the adult entertainment industry have followed the case closely, viewing the outcome as a barometer of the anti-obscenity effort pursued by Attorney General John Ashcroft. The $7 billion adult-film industry is centered in the San Fernando Valley.
“Hopefully, this will encourage the government to leave the adult industry alone,” said attorney Roger Jon Diamond, who has successfully represented a number of clients in the adult entertainment industry.
“What we want here for American adults is freedom, the same freedom President Bush says he is fighting for in Iraq. It makes no sense to fight for freedom abroad and restrict it here.”
But Bill Margold, who acted in and directed adult films for more than three decades and serves as an activist for the industry, said producers of explicit adult films should use common sense and keep a low profile.
“We’ve dodged a huge bullet, but this is not a license to go nuts,” he said. “Society does not have to have their noses rubbed in our business.”