R v Penguin Books Ltd
E1003061
R v Penguin Books Ltd was a landmark 1960 English obscenity trial in which the publisher of D. H. Lawrence’s novel "Lady Chatterley’s Lover" was acquitted, significantly liberalizing publishing and censorship laws in the UK.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
criminal court case
ⓘ
landmark legal case ⓘ obscenity trial ⓘ |
| appliedTest | tendency to deprave and corrupt ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
freedom of expression
ⓘ
obscenity law ⓘ publishing law ⓘ |
| centralLegalIssue |
definition of obscenity
ⓘ
test of literary merit ⓘ |
| charge | publishing an obscene article ⓘ |
| concernedWorkAuthor | D. H. Lawrence NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| concernedWorkTitle | Lady Chatterley’s Lover NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| court | Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| dateEnd | 1960-11-02 ⓘ |
| dateStart | 1960-10-20 ⓘ |
| defenceCounsel |
Gerald Gardiner
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Jeremy Hutchinson NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| defendant | Penguin Books Ltd NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance |
key moment in the British sexual revolution
ⓘ
milestone in the decline of traditional censorship in Britain ⓘ |
| impact |
greater freedom to publish sexually explicit literature
ⓘ
liberalization of censorship laws in the UK ⓘ liberalization of publishing laws in the UK ⓘ shift in British social and moral attitudes in the 1960s ⓘ |
| introducedEvidenceType |
evidence of literary merit
ⓘ
expert literary testimony ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | England and Wales ⓘ |
| juryDecision | unanimous verdict ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| legalBasis | Obscene Publications Act 1959 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| location |
London, England
ⓘ
surface form:
London
|
| notableQuoteContext | “Is it a book that you would even wish your wife or your servants to read?” ⓘ |
| outcome | acquittal ⓘ |
| precedentFor |
interpretation of “public good” defence
ⓘ
later obscenity prosecutions in the UK ⓘ |
| presidingJudge | Mr Justice Byrne NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| prosecutingCounsel | Mervyn Griffith-Jones NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| prosecutionBy | Director of Public Prosecutions NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| prosecutorQuestion | suitability of the book for wives and servants ⓘ |
| publicReaction |
seen as victory for literary freedom
ⓘ
widespread media attention ⓘ |
| publisherDefendant | Penguin Books NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedLegislation | Obscene Publications Act 1959 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| subjectOfProsecution |
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
novel by D. H. Lawrence ⓘ |
| timePeriod | post-war Britain ⓘ |
| verdict | not guilty ⓘ |
| year | 1960 ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.