They were asked whether they'd watched porn, shopped in porn stores, or visited one of the sex toy stores across the river in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Now an Omaha jury may well be watching porn during the trial of an Omaha adult video storeowner, as they'll have to decide whether what John Haltom sells is obscene by community standards.
Jury selection was held April 4, with the trial due to begin next week. Haltom and his assistant manager, David Bacon, are charged with distributing obscene materials. They were arrested in January, after Halton opened Dr. John's, and sold sexually oriented videos. The Omaha World-Herald says it was the first time "in many years" porn videos were sold within city limits openly.
Adult videos aren't considered Haltom's main merchandise, but the ruling in this case could set a tone for what's acceptable or unacceptable in Nebraska's largest city. And there is speculation that sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer might be brought in as a defense witness, perhaps to testify that the videos have some redeeming value.
The defense aimed at keeping off the jury those who considered adult videos obscene regardless of community standards, while prosecutors admonished potential jurors that whatever their feelings they were supposed to act based on the law itself.
Haltom also faces five other criminal charges and a separate trial on them, but he told the World-Herald he was confident about the adult video case going his way based on the First Amendment.
