MOVIES - April 23, 1987

Legislation to broaden California’s obscenity law won a key vote late Tuesday. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s 6-4 vote sent SB5 by Sen. Wadie Deddeh (D-Bonita) to the Appropriations Committee. The bill would broaden the definition of obscene matter that prosecutors use in trying pornography cases. Based on a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as the Miller decision, the state bill would alter the definition of obscene matter to cover material that “lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.” Originally, the bill would have based the definition on contemporary community standards, but Deddeh changed the standard to a statewide one to please the film industry.