Ballew v. Georgia

Supreme Court of the United States
Ballew v. Georgia, 436 U.S. 962 (1978)
98 S. Ct. 3083

Ballew v. Georgia

Opinion of the Court

Ct. App. Ga. Certiorari denied.

Dissenting Opinion

Mr. Justice Brennan, with whom Mr. Justice Stewart and Mr. Justice Marshall join,

dissenting.

Petitioner, convicted of distributing obscene materials under Ga. Code § 26-2101 (1975), for a second time asks this Court to decide the question:

“Whether . . . jury instructions on scienter allowing a finding of ‘constructive knowledge’ in an obscenity case are sufficient to meet . . . constitutional minimum standards. . . ?” Pet. for Cert. 2.

*963In Ballew v. Georgia, 435 U. S. 223 (1978) (Ballew I), which involved petitioner’s earlier conviction under § 26-2101, we granted certiorari to consider, but did not reach, precisely this issue. See Pet. for Cert. in Ballew v. Georgia, O. T. 1977, No. 76-761, p. 2. I see no reason to suppose that this issue is any less worthy of consideration on certiorari now than it was when we accepted it in Ballew I. For this reason, I would grant certiorari. See also Sewell v. Georgia, 435 U. S. 982 (1978) (Brennan, J., dissenting from dismissal of appeal); Teal v. Georgia, 435 U. S. 989 (1978) (same); Robinson v. Georgia, 435 U. S. 991 (1978) (dissenting from vacation of judgment and remand). Barring this, I would grant this petition and summarily reverse. See Ballew I, supra, at 246 (opinion of Brennan, J.); Sanders v. Georgia, 424 U. S. 931 (1976) (dissent from denial of certiorari).

Reference

Status
Published