Dance Number Created by John Stagliano for the 2008 AVN Awards Show:

XSF ‘08: Legal Obscenities Seminar
Stagliano assumes the role of freedom fighter as attorneys urge industry unity to defend 1st Amendment rights

Posted on XBizForum.com are video clips from the Legal Obscenities Seminar. Click on that link to watch the videos.

Original article from XBiz.com:

By Joanne Cachapero
Saturday, Jul 12, 2008

LAS VEGAS – On Thursday, in the one of the most well-attended XBIZ Summer Forum ‘08 seminars, more than 120 attendees turned out to hear a wide-ranging discussion on obscenity and the comments of recently indicted Evil Angel director/producer John Stagliano, as well as attorneys Lou Sirkin, Jeffrey Douglas, Lawrence Walters, Allen Gelbard and Greg Piccionelli. The panel was moderated by XBIZ’s Tom Hymes.
While last year’s hot legal issue was U.S.C. 18 2257 regulations for record-keeping, the hard-to-define subject of obscenity prosecution seemed to evoke more concern, especially in light of recent decisions in the Max Hardcore and Ray Guhn/TitanCash cases. Hardcore was an attendee at this year’s XBSF, but not present at the legal seminar.

Stagliano, who led off the discussion, was accompanied by wife Karen and Evil Angel director Joey Silvera, whose “Storm Squirters 2” is one of the titles named in the obscenity indictment.

Explaining his feelings on standing accused, Stagliano told the audience about being prosecuted based on the subjective decision of authorities at the Justice Department, who have claimed that his company’s movies are “obscene.”

“I’ve been thinking about why they did this to me” he said. Stagliano pointed out that he is facing 32 years in jail based on the prosecution’s dislike of his movies and that, somehow, the content threatens the rights of a community.

Stagliano went on to say that he believed the rights of the individual outweigh the rights of community, and that defending the rights of the individual is what the American Constitution is based on.

He noted also the decision in the Hardcore case, in which the defendant was found guilty on 10 counts of distribution of obscene materials.

“Some jurors in the Max Hardcore case wanted to acquit, but didn’t have the balls to stand up to the other jurors,” Stagliano pointed out. “But they believed in freedom in their hearts.”

Unlike in the Hardcore case and the Extreme Associates case that is currently being litigated, where the material in question is considered on the fringe of extreme sexual content, the Evil Angel material is closer to what most adult producers consider more “mainstream” content. Many adult producers have created DVD titles and online content featuring similar themes.

“John’s material is very middle of the road and I think the government doesn’t understand his material,” attorney Sirkin told XBIZ.

“We as lawyers, to be honest, you either believe in the 1st Amendment or you don’t. You either believe substantive due process rights,” Sirkin added. “My only criteria — that I don’t encourage anybody to make is that which is not being done by consensual, participating adults. As long as they are willing, and obviously, nobody should be hurt.

“Acting does show extremes of what goes on in human life,” Sirkin offered, “whether we find the situations or the materials may seem to be degrading, it’s only degrading to the viewer, because for the people participating in it, it’s voluntary behavior.”

But the vague standards that exist for defining obscenity become increasingly murky, complicated by rapidly evolving advances on the Internet.

“Obscenity will remain a threat to anyone in this room,” said XBIZ columnist Piccionelli, addressing both DVD and online producers in the audience. “But in a digital environment, who is the most at risk?”

Piccionelli cited that most prosecutions were targeted at producers of extreme material and said while he would not discourage the right to distribute such material, that adult producers might consider the type of content they were willing to distribute as a business decision, in terms of determining how much risk to take.

Sirkin, who has provided counsel in numerous 1st Amendment cases including Extreme Associates and the JM/5-Star cases, raised the ever-looming debate over how courts determine what material is “obscene,” based on the Miller test’s criteria of materials being considered “as a whole” and being deemed obscene by community standards.

All the lawyers agreed that with the rapid changes in online distribution formats caused by the proliferation of Internet adult websites, the criteria are no longer accurately defined by standards set more than three decades ago.

“[The definition of] community is the core central feature of obscenity,” Piccionelli said.

In terms of defining a global Internet community where, reportedly, 12 percent of Google searches are adult-oriented, standards for obscenity become a grey area.

Walters pointed out that in the Ray Guhn pre-trial arguments, he used Google statistical data to show that the word “orgy” was searched more frequently in the trial venue in Pensacola than the phrase “apple pie.” He also utilized mail order statistics from adult retailer Adam & Eve to show that many residents of the area were purchasing adult products.

Douglas, who was part of the Hardcore defense team and has litigated many other obscenity trials, said that it was his opinion that most judges in state and federal courts were not willing to “put their neck out there” and hand down a ruling that could potentially determine standards for the definition of community on the Internet – especially with Internet law being mainly new and uncharted territory.

“I don’t think all judges are afraid,” attorney Gelbard told XBIZ. “A judge that is more technologically savvy — a younger judge that grew up in a more liberal time when he’s confronted with some of these issues, may well realize that prior law isn’t on point. It’s one thing for a judge to say that a court superior to me has spoken on this exact issue and I don’t have the authority to change this. It’s another thing to say that no one has spoken on this specific issue yet, so I have a clean slate to write with — and I think that may happen far sooner than later.”

Walters pointed out also that, when applying the “taken as a whole work” criterion of Miller, that there was an arguable point that websites must be taken as a whole, similar to a book or a magazine with pages and pages of content. The idea of juries being required to review entire websites in order to determine lack of significant social or artistic value might be enough to squelch prosecution of online producers, he said.

Gelbard, who is a member of Stagliano’s legal defense team, stated his opinion that the issue of obscenity is largely political and often prosecuted in order to appease right-wing religious factions or to secure funding for various Justice Department divisions that deal with obscenity, child pornography and crimes against women.

However, on an individual level, Gelbard cited the problem as being rooted in violation of an individual’s right to access legal material in the privacy of their own home. Adult producers like Stagliano, he said, were directly defending those rights to privacy laid down in the Constitution.

Aside from the discussion of many other related issues that forced the seminar to run over its time limit, the attorneys also urged action from adult industry members, in order to take a “front line” stance against obscenity prosecutions, but also to protect the individual right of free speech.

Piccionelli advised all adult online producers to add a disclaimer to their website, declaring the material contained within as legitimately produced content that was not child pornography. This, he said, would help to separate the often confused issues of adult content being associated with illegal child pornography and would also add significant social value to a website.

He also urged online webmasters to copyright their websites as a whole work, reinforcing the idea of the entire website being considered a whole work, in the event of obscenity prosecution.

Douglas urged industry members to join the Free Speech Coalition, of which he has been longtime chairman, as well as other civic groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and a local Chamber of Commerce.

“Be a small hero for your industry,” Douglas urged.

Walters and Sirkin agreed that, in respect to obscenity prosecutions, each adult producer should feel obligated to be a “foot soldier” and present a unified front in support of the industry.

As an example, Sirkin pointed out that in the Hardcore case, many retailers pulled Hardcore’s products off their shelves, fearing prosecution. Then, when the defense team went to gather evidence that Hardcore’s product was commonly sold in local adult retail stores, they ran into problems locating product, in order to show the court what was commonly available for sale. He encouraged adult producers, distributors and retailers to take a strong pro-pornography stance and not be swayed by fear of potential prosecution.

The Staglianos made an appeal for industry members to visit their new legal website, DefendOurPorn.org, where interested parties could follow the trial and get more information, as well as make donations.

An audience member suggested that perhaps the online industry might consider donating 25 cents to $1 from each membership, in order to fund legal defense and resources for adult producers, and that such a program might be facilitated by the payment processors.

Without time left for audience questions, the seminar ended with several audience members lingering to discuss their concerns. And though most adult producers clearly hope they would never have to retain the services of 1st Amendment attorneys or face prosecution, the reasons why they might be targeted still remain a mystery and a cause for concern.

“I think that any time that anyone is prosecuted, whatever the material may be, it has a chilling effect and it’s frightening,” Sirkin said.

   The Defend Our Porn DVD is the first DVD compilation to contain scenes from every current Evil Angel director and former Evil Angel director Jules Jordan. All of Evil Angel’s proceeds from the movie will go into the legal defense fund to defend Evil Angel against the recent federal indictments on obscenity, and at the end of the case all remaining funds will continue to be used to fight the government’s war on pornography. These scenes and all production costs related to creating this DVD were donated in support of Evil Angel.

   On April 8, 2008, charges of obscenity were filed against John Stagliano and his companies John Stagliano Inc and Evil Angel Productions Inc. The movies charged were Milk Nymphos, Storm Squirters 2 and a trailer of Belladonna: Fetish Fanatic 5 on the Evil Angel website.

  
The organization Defend Our Porn was founded to spearhead the legal defense fund and DefendOurPorn.org was launched as a place for John to post comments and for fans to read articles related to obscenity cases. There is a guestbook on the site for fans to post their thoughts. “We received a tremendous amount of support from friends, colleagues and fans who asked what they could do to help,” said general manager Chris Norman. “John didn’t want to accept any offers of monetary donations because a prosecution like this has always been a possibility, and he was willing to accept that and face the legal fight.”

  
Then Evil Angel director Christoph Clark came up with the idea of a compilation DVD from the Evil Angel directors. Each director offered a previously-released scene, and former director Jules Jordan when approached offered one of his former Evil Angel scenes to be included. “I feel that this is perfect. When I heard about the charges, I wanted to do something to help John and Evil Angel. There are a lot of fans that want to do something to help John, and this DVD gives them a chance to get an excellent DVD for their money that they wanted to donate. It’s also a great way to get the word out about what’s going on,” said company director Belladonna, who appears in two scenes in the DVD set – one from one of her own movies, and one from Jules Jordan.

   The Defend Our Porn DVD is a 3-DVD set containing 16 scenes and totaling 10 hours of porn. The scenes are trademark Evil Angel-quality sex, with each one showing the flair of its own director. Karen Stagliano, John’s wife, added, “I personally know quite a few of the girls in the scenes in this movie, and all of them have a love for expressing their sexuality and enjoying being a performer in porn. I truly believe that their love and enjoyment for what they’re doing is a highlight in their scenes.”

   Included is an original scene from Karen Stagliano, also known as former performer Tricia Devereaux. Retired from performing for the past 9 years, she is dominated by Derrick Pierce. She decided that in the scene she wanted to get spanked and have Derrick use dildos and anal toys on her. Karen and Derrick waived performing fees for the scene, as did cameraman Jay Sin, location owner Joey Silvera and Derrick’s agent LA Direct Models. Also donating services towards the making of the DVD are authorer DVDemon, graphics company Art Attack Design, printer Great Western Litho and DVD replicator Sunshine.

  
John Stagliano comments, “Evil Angel was singled out for this prosecution because the government is making an assault on more mainstream pornography, and not just the extreme fringe. I am honored to be called upon to defend our industry in this fight and I appreciate this support.”

   Defend Our Porn starts shipping nationwide today and will be available in stores and online on July 3, just in time for Independence Day. The trailer including a full flash version will be available on evilangel.com. There will also be copies for sale at the Bondage Ball (Bondage Ball.com) at the Henry Fonda Theatre on the night of July 4.

The scene list for Defend Our Porn:

Scene 1 – Melissa Lauren and Nacho Vidal (Fashionistas Safado: Berlin) - John Stagliano

Scene 2 – Naomi and James Deen (Naomi: There’s Only One) - John Leslie

Scene 3 – Kelly Stafford and Rocco Siffredi (Rocco’s Way to Love) - Rocco Siffredi

Scene 4 – Sasha Grey, Mark Wood and Johnny Thrust (Face Fucking Inc) - Joey Silvera

Scene 5 – Cherry Jul, Mik Blue, Mike Chapman, Roly Reeves, Omar Galanti (Angel Perverse 8) - Christoph Clark

Scene 6 – Avy Scott and Nacho Vidal (Back 2 Evil) - Nacho Vidal

Scene 7 – Belladonna and Lexington Steele (Cock Happy) - Belladonna

Scene 8 – Eva Angelina in gangbang (E for Eva) - Jonni Darkko

Scene 9 – Tara White and Manuel Ferrara (Evil Anal 4) - Manuel Ferrara

Scene 10 – Mia Rose and Manuel Ferrara (Own My Ass) - Jake Malone

Scene 11 – Dana DeArmond, Holly Wellin and Andrew Andretti (Gape Lovers) - Jay Sin

Scene 12 – Nikki Jayne in DP scene (The Intitiation of Nikki Jayne) - Harmony Films

Scene 13 – Gabriella Mai, Nick Lang and Frank Gun (Ass Traffic 4) - Raul Cristian

Scene 14 – Sandra Romain and Jazz Duro (Cheek Freaks 2) - Jazz Duro

Scene 15 – Belladonna and Jules Jordan (Ass Worship) - Jules Jordan

Scene 16 – Tricia Devereaux and Derrick Pierce - original scene directed by Tricia Devereaux with Jay Sin

BUTTMAN MAG EDITORIAL: (As will appear in Buttman Magazine Vol. 11 No. 3)

THE UNITED STATES VS JOHN STAGLIANO

CRIMINAL NUMBER: 08-093

CHARGE: OBSCENITY

ARRAINGED: 4/21/08

Wow, I never thought I would reach this status in the world. I want to thanks the Justice Department for choosing me for this prosecution, I shall endeavor to not disappoint them.

There is war in America, on the American people. It takes the form of trying to kill pleasure. Perverse as this seems, the government, acting on political pressure from organized forces of evil (real evil, not Evil Empire, fun evil) in this country have made it their mission to see to it that people do not enjoy themselves too much, especially in sexual ways. This thing about ourselves, our sexuality, is something to be proscribed and controlled.

It is a fundamental thing about living, do I go for things that are expansive? That is, do I wish to extend my experience of this world? Or do I seek a narrow range of life, a range that does not include experimentation? They say this journey to enjoying your sexuality will addict you, it will screw up your life. That is for each of you to consider, but do you think someone should be able to control you, to repress you?

I have been called by our country to defend the rights of those who dare to love their lives here on earth, and I so love my life, and my freedom. They are trying to take that precious freedom away from me, and from you.

It is fitting that this issue is the one where I renew my own artistic impressions of ass. I have the stills here from the three scenes of my new release Buttman‘s Beautiful Brazilian Ass. I have been away for awhile from making Buttman movies. The pictures in this magazine have been from my other directors at the Evil Empire. But I recently went to Brazil, to make a Buttman movie for the first time in 3 years, just before I was indicted by the feds. So as a tribute to all those who would take our ass art away I’m glad I can present what I think is my best work, my new stuff, on a journey back to what I love.
-John Stagliano

I found out about the indictment from a close personal friend, Steve Javors at XBiz. On April 8, 2008, I was at dinner with John and some friends of our family. He had texted me to ask how we were doing, since he had just seen over PR Newswire.com that John had been charged. John and I had no idea what he was talking about, so I called him.

Within minutes, he had filled me in and emailed me the press release from the Justice Department and posted this article - John Stagliano, Evil Angel Charged With 7 Obscenity Violations - the first one about this obscenity case.

We phoned our lawyer, Allan Gelbard, and our general manager, Chris Norman, to fill them in. Noone from the company had been notified of this before the Justice Department sent out their press release.

Shortly thereafter, John received a phone call from Dan Miller at AVN.com, and this article was posted - John Stagliano, Evil Angel Indicted On Federal Obscenity Charges.

That night, John and I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep.

Here are other articles and media coverage of the case since that night:
-Karen Stagliano

Stagliano Indictment Raises Unique Questions Regarding Minors’ Internet Access - Mark Kernes, AVN.com. April 9, 2008.

Stagliano’s Lawyer Addresses Elements of Obscenity Case - Steve Javors, XBiz.com. April 9, 2008.

Vegas producer Stagliano charged with obscenity - Richard Abowitz, LATimes.com. April 9, 2008.

Feds hand eight-count obscenity charge to porn producer - Xeni Jardin, BoingBoing.net. April 10, 2008.

Feds Charge Porn Producer With Selling Adult Content to Adults - Kevin Poulsen, Wired.com. April 10, 2008.

John Stagliano to Be Arraigned April 21 - Steve Javors, XBiz.com. April 11, 2008.

Arraignment Date Set For Stagliano - Mark Kernes, AVN.com. April 11, 2008.

Evil Angel Obscenity Indictment Update - Prof. Marc J. Randazza, The Legal Satyricon. April 11, 2008.

The New War on Porn - Mary M, LA CityZine.com. April 14, 2008.

Antiporn Groups: Feds Should Indict Softer Content - Q Boyer, XBiz.com. April 15, 2008.

Feds Target John Stagliano - Howard Gensler, Philadelphia Daily News. April 10, 2008.

From XBiz.com (click here to read original article):
by Steve Javors
April 11, 2008

VAN NUYS, Calif. — Evil Angel owner John Stagliano will be arraigned April 21 in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. before Judge Richard J. Leon. Stagliano told XBIZ that he would plead not guilty on all charges.
XBIZ broke the story Tuesday of the Justice Department indicting Stagliano, Evil Angel Productions and John Stagliano Inc. with seven counts of operating “an obscenity distribution business and related offenses.” The charges stem from the mail and Internet distribution of two movies, plus a web trailer.

The movies named in the indictment are “Milk Nymphos” directed by Jay Sin, “Storm Squirters 2″ directed by Joey Silvera and a trailer from Belladonna’s “Fetish Fanatic 5.”

Representing Stagliano at his arraignment will be Allan Gelbard, who previously won a multimillion-dollar judgment for Evil Angel in a piracy case against Canadian distributor Kaytel. In addition to Gelbard, it’s likely that First Amendment attorney Lou Sirkin, assisted by Jennifer Kinsley, will be on the defense team.

XBIZ also has learned that Stagliano is looking to add a third lead attorney to his team and will be meeting with a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer next week.

Evil Angel publicist Karen Stagliano also announced that a legal defense fund would be set up in conjunction with the Free Speech Coalition. The creation of the fund was spurred by the outpouring of support Stagliano has received.

Prominent libertarian organization the Reason Foundation (aligned with Reason magazine) has reached out to Stagliano to offer assistance. A supporter of libertarian causes, Stagliano has supported the foundation for more than 30 years.

“The support from fans and people within the adult entertainment community has been tremendous,” Karen Stagliano told XBIZ. “Many have asked us how they could help, not only to support John and our company, but to help protect free speech. It’s touching that so many want to help in whatever way they can.”

Karen Stagliano said that any leftover contributions would go to FSC or another free speech organization.

A website for the defense fund is expected to go live on Monday. For more information contact karen@evilangel.com.

On April 8th, an indictment against John Stagliano, John Stagliano Inc and Evil Angel Productions was filed in Federal District Court in the District of Columbia. The indictment includes 7 counts of obscenity and 1 count seeking forfeiture of certain assets from the defendants.

You can view the indictment on XBiz.com’s website by clicking here.