July 27, 2006 5:39 AM

Judge to TABC: get your own damn porn!

Federal judge bars TABC from seizing porn: Says state liquor agents must first get ruling deeming items obscene

A federal judge has barred the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission from seizing material it deems obscene without getting a ruling from a judge, saying the practice violates the constitutional protection of free speech. U.S. District Judge Gray Miller, ruling in a lawsuit by a distributor of adult materials, also struck down as unconstitutional the statute the TABC was enforcing in seizing magazines, videos and other materials. The ruling late Monday marked the second time this year that the agency has been taken to task for overzealous enforcement.

Man, ya just gotta love the brave jack-booted thugs of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, don’tchaknow? Yes, these dedicated public servants are so willing to go above and beyond the normal call of duty that not only are they willing to do their job, they’re willing to protect us from threats we never even knew existed. Not only does TABC enforce state laws regarding the sale of alcohol, they have also taken it upon themselves to curtail the possession of porn. Shouldn’t someone tell these folks that alcohol and porn go together like strippers and professional athletes??

It wasn’t all that long ago- 2003, as a matter of fact- that TABC storm troopers kinda went overboard in a program designed to arrest drunken bar patrons. Hey, they meant well, but they really overshot the mark on that one. After all, being drunk isn’t a crime…at least not yet. Of course, get drunk and get behind the wheel of a car- now there’s a crime. Or get drunk and do the horizontal mambo on the courthouse steps and you’ve got a crime…or a “Girls Gone Wild” video.

Complaints from prosecutors, the public and legislators earlier this year forced the TABC to suspend a program aimed at arresting intoxicated bar patrons.

“It goes to show the cowboy mentality of the TABC agents,” said Michael Lamson, attorney for Houston-based Carico Distributing Co., which sued the agency in 2003….

In ordering a permanent injunction banning seizures by the TABC, Miller wrote that materials can be seized only after a judge determines they are obscene.

“The TABC may not simply designate materials ‘obscene,’ and then proceed from that untested premise,’ Miller wrote. “The law demands a judicial determination that this designation is accurate.”

Yeah, but now the TABC thugs will actually have to go procure their own porn….

Miller also struck down as unconstitutionally vague a law that forbids the possession or display of “immoral, indecent, lewd or profane” materials by merchants holding TABC licenses or permits.

“It cuts a wide and broad swath across territory covered by the First Amendment,” Miller wrote. He said non-obscene erotic movies and books, “while not enjoying a favored or central place in the First Amendment landscape,” are nevertheless protected.

Yep, the one thing that truly makes America great is that we’re guaranteed the inalienable right to drink and view porn. I LOVE AMERICA…don’t you??

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on July 27, 2006 5:39 AM.

You know you're in big trouble when.... was the previous entry in this blog.

My intrepid compadre, The Scarlet Pimpernel, is at it again is the next entry in this blog.

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