The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is backing a legal challenge to charges brought against a US shopkeeper who accidently allowed a child to be given a copy of a comic book featuring images of artist Pablo Picasso in the nude. (13-JUNE-05)
Gordon Lee, owner of the Legends comic book retailer in Rome, Georgia, faces seven charges for allegedly accidentally handing over a copy of Alternative Comics #2 to a minor during a Halloween promotional giveway. The parents complained to the police and Lee was arrested.
The comic includes a story called The Salon by Nick Bertozzi, an account of Picasso’s first meeting with painter Georges Braque, which included a segment depicting Picasso in the nude.
Georgia state law bans the unsolicited delivery of any content depicting nudity, with a penalty of one to three years in prison and/or fines of up to $10,000. He is also charged with distribution of “material harmful to minors”.
The Fund applied on 2 May to have the charges dismissed, citing Lee’s free expression rights under the first amendment to the US Constitution.
