Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 9, 1990 TAG: 9006090280
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
E-C Records owner Charles Freeman had defiantly ordered a shipment of 25 copies of "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" and was doing a brisk business when an undercover officer bought the double-album and a cassette for $8.49 each.
Before the detective reached the door, six deputies rushed in, handcuffing Freeman and arresting him on misdemeanor charges of distributing obscene material. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a year in jail and fined $1,000.
"America is free, free for everybody," Freeman said before authorities took him to the Broward County Jail, where he was booked and posted $100 bond. "And as long as this is America and I'm not living in Cuba, I feel my rights are violated."
The arrest came two days after U.S. District Judge Jose Gonzalez found that the sexually explicit recording was without social value, appealed only to prurient interests, and violated community standards in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Lyrics of many of the songs on the album contain references to violence against women and abusive sex, though they're tempered with humor.
"The inevitable has finally occurred," said Robyn E. Blumner, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida. "Someone in Broward is facing jail time because he sold a record album to an adult. That action put south Florida about on a par with Eastern Europe - a year ago."
She said the ACLU will offer legal representation to Freeman.
At a news conference later in Miami, Luther Campbell, owner and president of 2 Live Crew's record label, said the company will help pay the legal fees of retailers arrested for selling the album.
The Miami-based rap group sued after Sheriff Nick Navarro sent his deputies in March to warn retailers they faced arrest for selling the album. The sheriff acted after a county judge said the material was "probably obscene."
Gonzalez said the sheriff's office engaged in prior restraint of free speech by threatening owners before the recording was ruled obscene.
The judge listened to 2 Live Crew's recording, which offers a frank, detailed discussion of sexual positions and practices. He also heard witnesses and legal anti-censorship arguments May 14-15 before issuing his opinion.
Michael Greene, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, issued a statement in Los Angeles denouncing the court's ruling as politically motivated.
In the three hours before his arrest, Freeman said, he sold all but six copies of the recording. He said a line had formed outside the shop in anticipation of the shipment's arrival.
"I'll go to jail, and I'll come back and sell it again," he said. "I opened up a record store three years ago expecting to sell records and this was the furthest thing from my mind."
Authorities confiscated the remaining recordings.
by CNB