ssued without any legal basis, and neither were there any legal grounds to spread the order to the stores, which in effect meant a county wide seizure of the "Nasty" album. All of the Sheriff Offices actions concerning the "Nasty" album after Grossmans decision were therefore unconstitutional prior restraint. The Sheriff and his deputies were permanently enjoined from threatening employees and managers of record stores with arrest for the selling of obscene records or from informing them about a probable cause order of obscenity. On May 7, 1992, the United States Court of Appeals decided to reverse the decision of Judge Gonzalez (Luke Records v. Navarro 1992; see Morant 1992:24; note that Skywalker Records had meanwhile changed its name because of a legal suit filed by the production company of Steven Spielberg; the lead singer of 2 Live Crew called himself Luke Skywalker and the company he had set up Skywalker Records after one of the characters in the movie Star Wars; the name of the company was changed to Luke Records; Friedland 1991:137). The Court of Appeals heard expert testimony (including Professor Long) and decided that the "Nasty" album did not appeal to the prurient interest and did have (culturally specific) artistic value. Also, the Court of Appeals noted that Judge Gonzalez personal knowledge to determine community standards was insufficient and that he should have relied on expert witnesses. Finally, the burden of proof in the "Nasty" case should have rested with defendant Navarro, but he only submitted a copy of the tape. Therefore, the Court of Appeals concluded: "We reject the argument that simply by listening to this musical work, the judge could determine that it had no serious artistic value. REVERSED." (Luke Records v. Navarro 1992:139; the prior restraint analysis of Gonzalez was not commented upon). In the meantime, The Supreme Court has upheld the Court of Appeals ruling (Chicago Tribune, December 1992). III. ...
