The trial of Simon Walsh, an English former political aide who’s charged with possession of extreme pornographic images, is noteworthy for two reasons.
For starters, it’s deciding a boundary of just what kind of porn it’s legal to have in your possession. Walsh was found to be in possession of homemade images of himself and other men engaged in “fisting”—wherein one person’s entire hand makes its way into an orifice of another. In the U.K., material is legally obscene if it’s “grossly offensive, disgusting” or depicts an act that’s “likely to result in serious injury to a person’s anus, breasts or genitals.”
Myles Jackman, Walsh’s lawyer, wrote on his blog that the defense would have to prove in court that what “is ‘likely’ to result in ‘serious injury’ is not specifically defined.” He has to show that fisting doesn’t fit the bill.
The other reason why this case is such a big deal? Amazingly, the court—and Walsh himself—gave Jackman permission to live-tweet the trial over its several days of deliberation. He’s believed to be the first British lawyer to do so. He’s aided by Alex Dymock, a legal scholar who was given the same permission to tweet the trial.
The result? A record of some of the most profane things ever said in a court.
Note: the activities described here as quite graphic and should be considered not safe for work or children.
Photo of Jackman via @ObscenityLawyer