Question
Your client is Baker's Books, a large general interest bookstore operating in Austin County in the State of Alabama. Among its broad variety of books,
Your client is Baker's Books, a large general interest bookstore operating in Austin County in the State of Alabama. Among its broad variety of books, the store carries adult-oriented material. Specifically, it carries the following:
a. Books that describe, without pictures, children engaging in sexual activities. b. Books that describe, in words and photographs, the history of sex in various world civilizations; these books include historical photos and photos of contemporary models demonstrating various methods of achieving orgasm adopted or prized by various cultures in history. c. Books put out by a publisher called "Man's World." Man's World publishes books that espouse the view that "women are put on this earth to give sexual pleasure to men." These books consist of stories and pictures of men using women in various settings rife with sexual innuendo, with the woman being shown in degrading and humiliating positions or roles. The pictures sometimes show men and women in the nude, but the primary focus is on men's stories about their female conquests, with pictures depicting fully clothed men "conquering" partially clothed women. d. Books put out by a publisher called "Sexart." Sexart publishes books consist of stories and pictures designed to titillate and arouse sexual interest; the name "Sexart" comes from their trademark practice of depicting ultimate sex acts taking place in front of a reproduction of a famous painting.
1. The local district attorney sues to enjoin the bookstore from carrying these books. Meanwhile, a protest crowd gathers around the store. Colleen Collins, a local anti-pornography activist who organized the protest, gives a fiery speech in which she calls pornography "an abomination," and states that "before we can be purified, we must purge all abominations from our midst." During the speech Collins' assistants pass out a newsletter called The Divine Way which has an article alleging (incorrectly) that Bob Baker, the bookstore owner, is a pedophile and Satan worshipper. The newsletter got this information from a source on the Internet, which referred to someone named Bob Booker who was arrested for distributing pornography (not child pornography) the previous week in Oregon. The crowd gets more and more excited as Collins continues to speak. At the climax of her speech, a member of the crowd throws a brick through the glass door of the store, exclaiming "Cast the demons out!" That action precipitates a melee in which members of the crowd forcibly enter the store and damage its contents. 2. Collins is arrested for inciting a riot and Baker sues The Divine Way for libel. Analyze these claims and their likely outcomes.
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