Jesus Castillo and the CBLDF

[Nova Land]

DIRTY PICTURES

Here are some details about an interesting case and a group I think is worth supporting.

DIRTY PICTURES

The city will go to great lengths to keep you from seeing women having sex with trees. BY JOE PAPPALARDO.

The Dallas Observer story is almost 2 years old, but the case is still undergoing appeal. For those who don't need a sensational headline to get their attention, here is another story about this.

CBLDF Chairman Speaks Out

All art and literature need their rights to freedom of expression defended, but comic books have a unique added challenge. Comic books are often perceived as a form of media directed solely at children, instead of being given recognition as an and literature form. Comics constantly struggle against censorship in one form or another.

A recent example is the case against Jesus Castillo, a comic book store clerk who has been charged with display of obscenity for selling an adult comic book to an adult. Although the store in which Castillo worked kept all adult material in a separate section in the back, and required id to let even look at the material, much less purchase it, the Dallas Police Department found the situation warranted attention. They sent an undercover police officer in to purchase the 'offensive' comic book, and Castillo dutifully carded the officer. After seeing proof of age, and selling the book, Castillo was arrested. He was convicted by a jury in August 2000 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, a year's probation, and a $4,000 fine.

A recent (November 2, 2002) update of the story can be found at:CBR (Comic Book Resources) News

Jesus Castillo was convicted for promoting obscenity by selling an adult manga to an adult in a Dallas comic book store....

Castillo now faces criminal charges for doing his job. His penalty includes a six month suspended sentence, a $4,000 fine, and a year of probation. The Fund will continue to fight this injustice in the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The expense of doing so will not be less than $10,000, escalating this case's projected costs to more than $50,000.

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund exists to defend comics creators, comics publishers, and comics retailers (and the first amendment!) in cases such as the one described. Those of you with money left over after making a generous donation to JREF might consider supporting this group as well.

More information about this case, and about the CBLDF, can be found at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund web site.
http://www.cbldf.org.

 

[zakur]

Update: Supreme Court Denies Castillo Appeal

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has learned that the U.S. Supreme Court denied Jesus Castillo’s petition for writ of certiorari, bringing his three-year quest for justice to a close. Castillo is presently serving a period of unsupervised probation.

The CBLDF has been providing counsel for Castillo since his arrest in 2000 when he was charged with two counts of obscenity for selling adult comic books to adults. The Fund’s lawyers persuaded the court to try the two counts separately and waged a fierce courtroom battle that included expert testimony from Scott McCloud and Professor Susan Napier. The State prosecutor did not offer contradictory testimony, but secured a guilty verdict with a closing argument stating, “I don’t care what type of evidence or what type of testimony is out there, use your rationality, use your common sense. Comic books, traditionally what we think of, are for kids. This is in a store directly across from an elementary school and it is put in a medium, in a forum, to directly appeal to kids. That is why we are here, ladies and gentlemen. … We’re here to get this off the shelf.”

Additional coverage from Newsarama.