2005/06/15 Council Agenda Packet

App. B / Adult Businesses tical case that the material is not obscene. Prosecution of obscenity is also likely to be most effective if initial prosecu- tions focus on materials which are patently offensive to the community, such as those involving children, violence or bestiality. The experience of other cities has demonstrated that vig- orous and sustained enforcement of obscenity statutes can sharply reduce or virtually eliminate sexually oriented busi- nesses. Cincinnati, Omaha, Atlanta, Charlotte, India apolis and Fort Lauderdale were cited to the Working Group as examples of cities which have successful programs of obscen- ity prosecution.' The Working Group encourages prosecutors to take advantage of increasing training opportunities and other assistance for obscenity prosecutions and to reassess the desirability of increased enforcement. The Working Group is pleased to note that county attorneys and law enforcement groups in Minnesota have recently held forums and seminars on obscenity law enforcement and prosecution. The U.S. Justice Department's National Obscenity Enforce- ment Unit offers assistance. to local prosecutors, including sample pleadings, indictments, search warrants, motions, responses and trial memoranda. 6 Memorandum to Jim Bellus, executive assistant to St. Paul Mayor George Latimer (prepared by St. Paul Department of Planning and Economic Development) (July 6, 1988); see also Waters, "The Squeeze on Sleaze,' Newsweek, Feb. 1, 1988, at 46 ("After more than 10 years of levying heavy fines and making arrests, Atlanta has won national renown as 'the city that cleaned up pornography.' "). 7 The Address of the National Obscenity Enforcement Unit is U.S. Justice Department, 10th & Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Room 2216, Wash- ington, D.C. 20530. Its telephone number is 202-633-6780. Assistance Is also available from Citizens for Decency through Law, Inc., 2846 E. Camelback Rd., Suite 740, Phoenix, AZ 85016. It is the publisher of "The Preparation and Trial of an Obscenity Case: A Guide for the Prosecuting Attorney." Its telephone number is 602-381-1322. The National Obscenity Law Center, another private organization, is located at 476 Riverside Drive, Suite 236, New York, N.Y. 10115. It publishes an Obscenity Low Bulletin and the "Handbook on the Prosecution of Obscenity Cases." Its 402 Minnesota Attorney General's Report / App. B Recommendations (1) City and county attorneys' offices in the Twin Cities metropolitan area should designate a prosecutor to pur- sue obscenity prosecutions and support that prosecutor with specialized training. (2) The Legislature should consider funding a pilot program o to demonstrate the efficacy of obscenity prosecution and should encourage the pooling of resources between urban and suburban prosecuting offices by making such 1-2 cooperation a condition of receiving any such grant funds. (3) The Attorney General should provide informational re- sources for city and county attorneys who prosecute obscenity crimes. (4) Obscenity prosecutions should concentrate on cases that most flagrantly offend community standards. It. Other Legal Remedies A. RICO/Forfeiture In addition to traditional criminal prosecutions, use of RICO statutes and criminal and civil forfeiture actions may also prove to be successful against obscenity offenders. By attacking the criminal organization and the profits of illegal activity, such actions can provide a strong disincentive to the establishment and operation of sexually oriented businesses. For example, the federal government and a number of the twenty-eight states which have enacted racketeer influenced and corrupt organization (RICO) statutes include obscenity offenses as predicate crimes. Generally speaking, to violate a RICO statute, a person must acquire or maintain an interest in or control of an enterprise, or must conduct the telephone number Is 212-870-3216. P3