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Cargal v. Georgia

438 U.S. 906 Court SCOTUS Decision date 1978-06-26 Docket No. 77-1426 English

Judges with whom Mr. Justice Stewart and Mr. Justice Marshall join,

Decision Majority (1) · Dissent — Brennan J.

Contents

Majority

p. 906
No. 77-1426.
Cargal v. Georgia.

Ct. App. Ga. Certio-rari denied.

with whom Mr. Justice Stewart and Mr. Justice Marshall join,

dissenting.

Petitioner, convicted of distributing obscene materials under Ga,. Code §26-2101 (1975), asks this Court to decide the question:

“Whether jury instructions on scienter allowing a finding of 'constructive knowledge’ in an obscenity case are sufficient to meet . . . constitutional minimum standards. . . ?” Pet. for Cert. 2.

In Ballew v. Georgia, 435 U. S. 223 (1978), we granted certio-

Dissent — Brennan J.

p. 907
rari to consider, but did not reach, precisely this issue. See Pet. for Cert. in Ballew v. Georgia, O. T. 1977, No. 76-761, p. 2. I see no reason to suppose that this issue is any less worthy of consideration on certiorari now than it was when we accepted it in Ballew. For this reason, I would grant certiorari. See also Sewell v. Georgia, 435 U. S. 982 (1978) (Brennan, J., dissenting from dismissal of appeal); Teal v. Georgia, 435 U. S. 989 (1978) (same); Robinson v. Georgia, 435 U. S. 991 (1978) (Brennan, J., dissenting from vacation of judgment and remand). Barring this, I would grant this petition and summarily reverse. See Ballew, supra, at 246 (opinion of Brennan, J.); Sanders v. Georgia, 424 U. S. 931 (1976) (dissent from denial of certiorari).

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