r (Crane 1993). 2. Cops Making Laws Curiously, when police actions get more concerted, research on their activities gets more messy. From various sources, I have tried to come up with a clear picture of the law enforcement involvement around the 2 Live Crew case, but this has proven to be a very difficult endeavor. Not much of the literature on the control of music deals explicitly with police activity, and different reports on police action in the popular press and furnished by anti-censorship organizations give contradictory accounts. I will present the most important police actions on music since the 2 Live Crew case chronologically. Prepare and Do the First 2 Live Crew Trial The 2 Live Crew case in fact began already in 1988. On June 29, 1988, Tommy Hammond, co-owner of a record store in Alexander City, Alabama, was arrested for selling a cassette of 2 Live Crews "Move Somethin" to an undercover police officer. Hammond was brought before a jury trial on a misdemeanor charge, convicted in Municipal Court, and fined $500.00 (OGallagher and Gaertner 1991:105-106; Soocher 1990:27). On February 22, 1990, an Alabama jury court in appeal decided to overturn Hammonds conviction (Beatty 1991:628; OGallagher and Gaertner 1991:105-106). A Lee County, Florida, judge ruled in October 1988 that probable cause existed that Move Somethin by 2 Live was obscene (Beatty 1991:628). In February, 1990, Governor Bob Martinez asked state prosecutor Peter Antonacci to determine whether the 2 Live Crew music violated obscenity and racketeering laws (Adler et al. 1990:57). The governors interest was aroused by Jack Thomson, an anti-pornography lawyer who had launched a letter-faxing campaign. Thomson sought to persuade Martinez to see if 2 Live Crew violated RICO, the 1970 Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization Act, Beatty 1991:629-630. Thomson had himself received a letter from the American Family Association that included a transcript of the "Nasty" a...
