LEGAL FILE

Mapplethorpe Hearing: Whether Robert Mapplethorpe’s sexually oriented photos should be considered on their own or in the context of his other works was the question at a hearing on obscenity charges against Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center and its director, Dennis Barrie. Municipal Judge David J. Albanese considered arguments Monday in Cincinnati on a prosecution request to limit the case to five pictures identified in the indictment. Expert witnesses said the Mapplethorpe exhibit that closed at the center May 26 should be seen as a whole, rather than singling out pictures that prosecutors say are obscene. Lawyers for the defense also contended that the 175-picture exhibit seen as a whole could not considered obscene, and asked Albanese to dismiss the misdemeanor obscenity charges. Albanese ended the hearing Monday without issuing a ruling. The trial is set for Sept. 24.