The legal panel for the 2005 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo was not only the biggest panel yet, it was also its best, with attorneys from nearly every specialty likely to affect an adult retailer, producer or distributor represented.
Moderated by Sean Bersell, VSDA's vice president of public affairs, the panel included familiar faces such as Flynt attorneys Paul Cambria and H. Louis Sirkin, Internet expert Lawrence G. Walters, and AVN columnist Clyde DeWitt, as well as newcomers to AEE such as Jerome Mooney, who represented PHE, Inc. during 1990's Operation PostPorn - that case was dismissed for failure of the federal government to prosecute timely - and who now specializes in sentencing guidelines disputes, and Kathleen Janssen, a former city attorney for Clark County, Nevada, who switched sides and now works with prominent local defense attorney (and RICO forfeiture expert) Dominic Gentile.
Almost as interesting as the panel, however, were some of its attendees. In the audiences were attorneys Gentile, legendary Denver-based First Amendment advocates Arthur Schwartz and Michael Gross (they won the Sundance Associates case), Free Speech board member Reed Lee and copyright/trademark attorney Al Gelbard. PHE owner Philip D. Harvey was also present.
Or as someone remarked, “There's more free speech attorneys here per square foot than anywhere outside of a First Amendment Lawyers Association meeting!”
Walters spoke first to the standing-room-only crowd, summing up the anti-industry actions of President Bush's first term; activity which Walters termed “testing of the waters.” Along the way, Walters reminded the audience of the PROTECT Act, the new 2257 regulations, the continuing injunction in the COPA case, the Lawrence v. Texas decision, the anti-gay marriage laws passed in November in 11 states, the increased Republican majorities in Congress, the impending nominations of new Supreme Court justices and the impending confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as the new Attorney General. Walters stressed the need for education of industry members as to their legal rights, and for involvement in protecting speech rights in their local communities.
Janssen focused more on problems facing retailers, including a list of do's and don't's calculated to keep the wolf - or sheriff - away from the door. Among her suggestions were to keep store premises looking presentable, obey all local regulations (and being aware of when they are being made in city council meetings), be cordial to city inspectors and avoid city code violations, getting to know local politicians, being cordial to customers and watching that they don't misbehave in the store or its vicinity, making sure that all license fees and the like are paid, and responding timely to any complaints made by neighbors or public officials.
In a sense, Paul Cambria expanded on Janssen's concept, with specific suggestions to producers and store owners. Noting that when police walk into a store, they don't first look at the contents of any videos for sale; the first thing they see are the boxcovers, so manufacturers and retailers should take that fact into consideration in designing and stocking videos.
Cambria also advised not purposely antagonizing those in a position to make busts, and that one of the most important things an adult businessperson can do is to hire a knowledgeable and experienced attorney. He also reminisced about some of his dealings with juries, which he described as “the line of defense for us.”
Both Cambria and the next speaker, Sirkin, acknowledged their debt to Art Schwartz for teaching them much about defending First Amendment cases. Sirkin also recalled some of his successes, including defending the curator of a Cincinnati art museum charged with obscenity for displaying photos taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, and his victory on the “virtual child pornography” aspects of the Child Pornography Prevention Act.
Sirkin then went into the implications of the Lawrence v. Texas decision for obscenity prosecutions, noting that he had made arguments based on that decision's substantive due process concept in seeking to have federal charges dismissed against Extreme Associates owners Rob Black and Lizzy Borden. Sirkin felt that the judge in the case understood what he was saying - so much so that federal prosecutor Mary Beth Buchanan's office asked for extra time to file briefs attempting to refute Sirkin's arguments.
Jerry Mooney, the next speaker, displayed some of the oratorical skills that had made him one of the country's top First Amendment defenders - even in cases filed in Salt Lake City, his home territory. Mooney also went into the history of the federal Sentencing Reform Act, which led to the federal sentencing guidelines - which are currently under challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court, which last year struck down similar state guidelines in Washington. He shocked the audience by describing how some unwise but common actions that defendants take, such as erasing hard drives and destroying data, can add months or years to their sentences if convicted.
The final speaker was Clyde DeWitt, a former prosecutor for the city of Houston, Texas, and now a law partner of both Mooney and Walters, who gave the audience a brief look into the mind of a typical prosecutor.
“There are only three rules a prosecutor lives by,” DeWitt said. “Don't lose cases, don't make waves, and look busy.”
Part of looking busy, however, might mean creating obscenity cases, he noted - but that adult industry entrepreneurs were more in danger from anti-porn zealots such as Justice Department prosecutor Bruce Taylor and various Assistant U.S. Attorneys around the country.
DeWitt also predicted massive busts of Webmasters who allow minors easy access to sexually-explicit material, and warned, “If you get any inkling that the government is looking at you… that's the time to hire a lawyer.”
The seminar went almost a half-hour over its allotted time, but the audience was transfixed throughout. At its end, some audience members described the experience as “the best legal seminar ever at AEE.”
