Ark. Code Ann. § 5-68-303 (2020)
Promoting obscene materials
- Except as otherwise provided in § 5-68-308, a person commits promoting obscene materials if he or she knowingly promotes, or has in his or her possession with intent to promote, any obscene material.
- As used in this section, “material” means any writing, picture, motion picture, film, slide, drawing, or other visual reproduction.
- Promoting obscene materials is a Class D felony.
History. Acts 1981 (1st Ex. Sess.), No. 28, § 3; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-3585.2.
Research References
ALR.
Constitutionality of state statutes banning distribution of sexual devices. 94 A.L.R.5th 497.
Case Notes
Construction.
Former law which prohibited the showing of an obscene film for compensation but did not prohibit such a showing for free, did not repeal, either expressly or by implication, § 5-68-203 et seq., which prohibits the showing of any obscene film, regardless of compensation inasmuch as the two acts are not in direct conflict. Buck v. Steel, 263 Ark. 249, 564 S.W.2d 215 (1978) (decision under prior law).
Evidence.
Evidence was sufficient to sustain conviction. Dunlap v. State, 303 Ark. 222, 795 S.W.2d 920 (1990), cert. denied, Dunlap v. Arkansas, 498 U.S. 1121, 111 S. Ct. 1076, 112 L. Ed. 2d 1181 (1991).
Search and Seizure.
Where the articles were offered for public sale by the bookstore, and the officers walked in and bought them, there was no violation of the prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the defendant, an employee of the bookstore, could be arrested without a prior judicial determination of obscenity. 4000 Asher, Inc. v. State, 290 Ark. 8, 716 S.W.2d 190 (1986).
Cited: Dunlap v. State, 292 Ark. 51, 728 S.W.2d 155 (1987); Oglesby v. State, 299 Ark. 403, 773 S.W.2d 443 (1989).