State v. Tavone, 82-62-C
| Decision Date | 27 May 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. 82-62-C,82-62-C |
| Citation | 446 A.2d 741 |
| Parties | STATE v. John TAVONE. A. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
The defendant, John Tavone (Tavone), stands convicted by a Superior Court jury of having knowingly presented for commercial gain an obscene motion picture. Subsequent to the conviction the trial justice imposed a two-year prison sentence. Thereafter, the trial justice released Tavone on bail pending our determination of his appeal. One of the conditions involved in the grant of bail was that while Tavone's appeal was pending, he would not exhibit at the theater he owns and operates any X rated motion pictures. Tavone is before us pursuant to our Rule 9, seeking a nullification of the "X rated" stipulation.
Tavone's theater is located in West Warwick, and its operation is licensed by the town council of that municipality. The indictment that led to Tavone's conviction consisted of three counts, two of which related to one movie and the third of which concerned a second movie. The jury acquitted Tavone on the charges included within the two-count movie but convicted him so far as the one-count motion picture was concerned.
In setting the "X rated" prohibition, the trial justice acknowledged that 1 However, in opting for a blanket exclusion of X rated movies, the trial justice expressed a concern that the public's "confidence in its court system is going to be eroded" if he released Tavone on bail and "then he goes right back into business doing what he has been doing day in and day out." The trial justice warned Tavone that a showing of any X rated movie might be considered ground for revocation of bail.
In State v. Abbott and Freeman, 113 R.I. 430, 432, 322 A.2d 33, 35 (1974), this court emphasized that the primary purpose of bail, "be it of the pretrial or the post conviction variety, is to assure a defendant's appearance in court at the appointed time." 2 The trial justice's concern for the judiciary's image is laudable; however, we fail to see the relationship between Tavone's abstention from the showing of a movie bearing an X classification and assurance of his subsequent appearances as well...
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Tinsley v. State
...enjoined as obscene may not be circumvented...." Id. at 1242-43. The Rhode Island Supreme Court reached a similar result in State v. Tavone (1982), R.I., 446 A.2d 741. There, the defendant was convicted of presenting an obscene motion picture and received a two-year prison sentence. Pending......
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Delgado v. American Multi-Cinema, Inc.
...information to enable parents to make judgments on movies they wanted their children to see or not to see'...."]; State v. Tavone (R.I.1982) 446 A.2d 741, 742, fn. 1 ["the rating system was intended by its originator, the Motion Picture Association of America, to serve as a guide for parent......