TAMPA – Seven women and five men will decide whether movies distributed by a Hollywood movie producer who uses the name Max Hardcore violate the standards of the Tampa area community and are criminally obscene.
The filmmaker, whose real name is Paul F. Little, faces 10 federal counts of distributing obscene materials through the mail and over the Internet. Little’s company, MaxWorld Entertainment, is also on trial.
The case is a rare prosecution involving adult-entertainment materials that do not include children. Opening statements are set for today.
Potential jurors were told that if they were selected to judge the case, they would have a duty to view the videos.
Several jury candidates said they would have trouble viewing such scenes, including a youth minister who said he struggled to overcome a pornography addiction and would have trouble if he had to watch those videos again.
Although prosecutors objected to removing some potential jurors who said they would have difficulty watching the videos, U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew granted defense challenges to their jury service.
Several jury candidates said they had viewed adult materials on the Internet, and at least one of them was selected to serve on the panel that will decide the case.
Those selected to serve on the jury include two nurses, a pawn shop owner, a Hillsborough County schoolteacher, a retired loan coordinator and an executive assistant for a personal injury lawyer.
Before beginning jury selection, the sides argued over whether jurors will see all 8 1/2 hours of video that are the subject of the indictment handed up last year against Little or whether prosecutors may present about 2 1/2 hours of excerpts.
The defense maintains that the jury must see the entire production before judging whether it violates federal obscenity standards.
Bucklew said that she must view the videos before deciding that issue.