Guam § 28 - Unlawful Distribution of Images; Exceptions;

§ 28. Unlawful Distribution of Images; Exceptions;

Definitions; and Penalties.

COMMENT: The provisions set forth in this Article relating to

obscenity are believed to conform to the standards presently set by the

U.S. Supreme Court (1976). This is, however, a volatile area of the law

and the Commission has not attempted it to update this provision to cover

developments in the last two (2) years. This must be done if, upon further

research, it appears that there are any serious defects in this Article. Since

the trend of the Supreme Court has been to give more power to “local

standards” this Article is probably somewhat more limited than the

Supreme Court would require at the time of enactment (1977).

The main benefit of this Article is that it creates a standard by

which the jury and court may determine what is obscene, a fatal defect in

the former law. Certain defenses are allowed, most of which reflecting

the view that the private view of obscene material or their receipt by

children when accompanied by responsible adult, no matter how morally

objectionable, should not be contrary to law.

This Article covers “public lewdness” and seals a gap in the former

law of obscenity by providing means for the destruction of obscene

materials.

COL6/24/2021