"Howl" obscenity trial
E305338
The "Howl" obscenity trial was a landmark 1957 U.S. court case that tested the limits of literary free speech by challenging whether Allen Ginsberg’s poem "Howl" was legally obscene, ultimately affirming its protection under the First Amendment.
All labels observed (2)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| "Howl" obscenity trial canonical | 1 |
| Howl obscenity trial | 1 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States legal case
ⓘ
court case ⓘ landmark First Amendment case ⓘ obscenity trial ⓘ |
| charge | obscenity ⓘ |
| city | San Francisco ⓘ |
| concernsGenre | poetry ⓘ |
| concernsMovement | Beat Generation ⓘ |
| concernsWork |
Howl
ⓘ
surface form:
Howl and Other Poems
|
| constitutionalBasis | First Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court |
Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco
ⓘ
surface form:
San Francisco Municipal Court
|
| endYear | 1957 ⓘ |
| era | 1950s ⓘ |
| hasDefendantWork | Howl ⓘ |
| holding |
Howl is not obscene
ⓘ
work has redeeming social importance ⓘ |
| impact |
expanded protection for literary free speech
ⓘ
precedent for later obscenity cases ⓘ strengthened legal protection for controversial literature ⓘ |
| involvesAuthor | Allen Ginsberg ⓘ |
| involvesPublisher |
City Lights Publishers
ⓘ
surface form:
City Lights Books
Lawrence Ferlinghetti ⓘ |
| isLandmarkCaseIn |
American literary history
ⓘ
U.S. obscenity law ⓘ freedom of expression jurisprudence ⓘ |
| judge | Clayton W. Horn ⓘ |
| jurisdiction |
California, United States
ⓘ
surface form:
California
|
| legalIssue |
First Amendment rights
ⓘ
freedom of speech ⓘ freedom of the press ⓘ obscenity ⓘ |
| locationOfArrest |
San Francisco
ⓘ
surface form:
San Francisco, California
|
| outcome | acquittal of publisher ⓘ |
| reasonForProsecution |
alleged explicit sexual content
ⓘ
alleged obscene language ⓘ |
| relatedMovement | Beat literature ⓘ |
| relatedOrganization |
City Lights Bookstore
ⓘ
surface form:
City Lights Books
|
| relatedPerson |
Allen Ginsberg
ⓘ
Lawrence Ferlinghetti ⓘ |
| startYear | 1957 ⓘ |
| subjectMatterOfWork |
counterculture
ⓘ
drug use ⓘ mental illness ⓘ sexuality ⓘ |
| verdict | not obscene ⓘ |
| year | 1957 ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.