[65]
The general character of a book is not a defence of a particular
passage, however unimportant; if there is the slightest descent to what
is "unbecoming," the whole may be ruthlessly condemned.[66] Nor is it an
admissible defence to argue that the book was not generally circulated,
and that the copy in evidence was obtained by an _agent provocateur_,
and by false representations.[67] Finally, all the decisions deny the
defendant the right to introduce any testimony, whether expert or
otherwise, that a book is of artistic value and not pornographic, and
that its effect upon normal persons is not pernicious. Upon this point
the jury is the sole judge, and it cannot be helped to its decision by
taking other opinions, or by hearing evidence as to what is the general
opinion.
Occasionally, as I have said, a judge has revolted against this
intolerable state of the court-and Comstock-made law, and directed a
jury to disregard these astounding decisions.[68] In a recent New York
case Judge Samuel Seabury actually ruled that "it is no part of the duty
of courts to exercise a censorship over literary productions.
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