CBLDF Case Files – Florida v. Mike Diana

On June 27, 1997 the United States Supreme Court denied Mike Diana’s petition for a writ of certiorari, thus ending a three year battle to have his obscenity conviction in the state of Florida overturned.

Mike Diana, the controversial creator of the ‘zine “Boiled Angel,” is the first American artist ever to be convicted of obscenity. His work
contains graphic and often shocking depictions of society’s most serious
problems: child abuse, date rape, and religious corruption.

Diana was first charged with obscenity after an undercover Florida
detective posed as an artist to obtain copies of “Boiled Angel.” In a
week-long case in March of 1994, a Florida jury found Diana guilty of
publishing, distributing, and advertising obscene material. They agreed
that his work “lacked serious literary, artistic, political or scientific
value” because it did not compare to such works as “The Grapes of Wrath”
or Picasso’s “Guernica.”

Diana was sentenced to a three-year probation, during which time his
residence is subject to inspection, without warning or warrant, to
determine if he is in possession of, or is creating obscene material. He
is to have no contact with children under 18, undergo psychological
testing, enroll in a journalistic ethics course, pay a $3,000 fine, and
perform 1,248 hours of community service.

Two appeals to the State Appellate Court failed to have the case reversed
or reheard in Florida. During the first appeal process, the prosecution
used evidence gathered after the original trial, a move usually
considered unethical. The courts refused to accept an amicus brief
submitted by the ACLU, and responded ‘without comment’ to the second and
final appeal.

Two of the three counts under which Diana was convicted were endorsed by
the Appellate Court. The only count that was judged incorrect was the
conviction for “advertising obscene material.” The Court agreed with
Diana’s attorney that it was improper to convict someone for advertising
material that had not been created yet, since the artist could not, at
the time, know the nature or character of the work.

In May of 1997 the CBLDF and the ACLU submitted a petition to the U.S.
Supreme Court to hear Diana’s case. George Rehdart, a well-known First
Amendment attorney, assisted in preparing the petition. The Supreme
Court denied the petition “without comment,” thereby ending all
possibility of overturning Diana’s conviction.

Mike Diana is currently living in New York, where he was granted
permission to serve out his sentence. He is fulfilling his community
service obligation through volunteer work for the CBLDF.

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One Response to “CBLDF Case Files – Florida v. Mike Diana”

  1. CBLDF » Happy Birthday Neil Gaiman! says:
    November 10, 2010 at 5:59 pm

    [...] infancy. At the time, CBLDF was deep in the throes of our work defending cases on two fronts – Mike Diana in Florida and Paul Mavrides in California. In both cases, the stakes were extremely high. Mike [...]

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The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and the Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund are pleased to announce that the Crown has withdrawn all criminal charges in R. v. Matheson, the case previously described as the “Brandon X case,” which involved a comic book reader who faced criminal charges in Canada relating to comic books on his computer. The defendant, Ryan Matheson, a 27-year-old comic book reader, amateur artist, and computer programmer has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.

The total legal costs of this case exceeded $75,000. After taking the case last summer, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund contributed $20,000 to the defense, and the Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund contributed $11,000. The CBLDF also participated in shaping the defense, including recruiting expert testimony for the trial. The organization is currently seeking funds to help pay off the $45,000 debt Matheson incurred as a result of his case, and to create new tools to prevent future cases. To make a contribution to these important efforts, please visit www.cbldf.org. Learn more about the shocking details of this case and how you can support the CBLDF's efforts to fight back!Read the full post