[RawAlex]

Well, I don't know who wrote that post on Mike's blog, but I am sure glad they aren't a lawyer. The fast forward comment alone just entirely misses the entire concept of what is on the table here, a judgment system based on the work taken as a whole. It's the exact working of the law that is being used here, and it significant and important.

He may only be interested in fast forwarding to the cumshots (and I am sure a significant number of viewers would do that to any movie), but then again, there are people who go for the Mr Skin view of Hollywood movies too, fast forwarding only the parts of movies that show boobs, nipples, or "sexy" stuff. The end user's decision to view the material in any other order or to view only selected parts of a movie doesn't change the legal definition of "the whole".

That all being said, I have to say that I have a feeling that this case is not going to be a win for the porn industry no matter which way it goes. Let me explain:

If he is found guilty (and the material found to be obscene at least in that particular community) it will likely embolden other states and other AGs to take a stab at the porn beast. If Max's stuff is obscene, then there are plenty of other videos and plenty of other websites that could be considered obscene. Pretty much any site with gagging, fish hooks, choking, or any other similar material MIGHT become obscene. Guilty would throw the entire business for a loop, and the repercussions could be huge (for online businesses, Visa and Mastercard could come down and say "no fishhooks, no deep throat, no gagging, no choking, etc" and a certain number of sites would either get shut down or have to remove content.

Let's say Max wins. The jury doesn't find the material obscene. Suddenly it's a free for all and every other new website and video release will feature extreme gagging, puking, and verbal degradation. Pretty much everything up to that point will be "obviously not obscene", and the material might shift to that more extreme vein.

Either way, it is likely that both sides will ride this one right to the supreme court, and it could take YEARS for the true resolution to come out.