Comstock Act of 1873

The Comstock Act of 1873 refers to a series of current provisions in Federal law that generally criminalize the involvement of the United States Postal Service, its officers, or a common carrier in conveying obscene matter,^[1] crime-inciting matter, or certain abortion-related matter.^[2] The Comstock Act is largely codified across title 18 of the United States Code and was enacted beginning in 1872 with the attachment of an extraneous rider to a postal service reconsolidation bill.^[3] Amended multiple times since initial enactment, with most recently in 1996,^[4] the Act is nonetheless often associated with U.S. Postal Inspector and anti-vice activist Anthony Comstock.^[5]

Comstock Act of 1873

Long title	Act for the Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral Use
Nicknames	Comstock Act of 1873
Enacted by	the 42nd United States Congress
Citations
Public law	42-438
Statutes at Large	ch. 258, 17 Stat. 598
Codification
Acts amended	Sec. 148 of an Act to revise, consolidate, and amend the Statutes relating to the Post-office Department
U.S.C. sections created	18 U.S.C. § 552, 18 U.S.C. § 1462, 18 U.S.C. § 1463, 19 U.S.C. § 1305, 39 U.S.C. § 3001(e)
U.S.C. sections amended	18 U.S.C. § 1461
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 1572 by William Windom (R‑MN) on February 11, 1873 Committee consideration by Committee of the Whole and the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads Passed the Senate on February 21, 1873 (unanimous consent) Passed the House on March 1, 1873 (without objection) Signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 3, 1873
Major amendments
Criminal Code Act of 1909, c. 321, 35 Stat. 1088, 1129 Tariff Act of 1930, Pub. L. 71–361, ch. 497, 46 Stat. 590 Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, Pub. L. 91-375, 84 Stat. 719 Contraception Mail Prohibition Removal Act of 1970, Pub. L. 91-662, 84 Stat. 1973 Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988, Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, 102 Stat. 4500 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Pub. L. 103-322, 108 Stat. 1796 Communications Decency Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-104, title V, 110 Stat. 56
United States Supreme Court cases
Ex parte Jackson, 96 U.S. 727 (1878) Grimm v. United States, 156 U.S. 604 (1895) Swearinger v. United States, 161 U.S. 446 (1896) Bartell v. United States, 227 U.S. 427 (1913) United States v. Limehouse, 285 U.S. 424 (1932) Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476 (1957) One, Inc. v. Olesen, 355 U.S. 371 (1958) Manual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day, 370 U.S. 478 (1962) Ginzburg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463(1966) Redmond v. United States, 384 U.S. 264 (1966) United States v. Reidel, 402 U.S. 351 (1971) United States v. Thirty-Seven Photographs, 402 U.S. 363 (1971) United States v. 12 200-ft. Reels of Film, 413 U.S. 123 (1973) United States v. Orito, 413 U.S. 139 (1973) Hamling v. United States, 418 U.S. 87 (1974) Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188 (1977) Smith v. United States, 431 U.S. 291 (1977) Ward v. Illinois, 431 U.S. 767 (1977) Pinkus v. United States, 436 U.S. 293 (1978) Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp., 463 U.S. 60 (1983), in which 39 U.S.C. § 3001(e), as-applied to commercial speech, was struck down by the Supreme Court on June 24, 1983. Alexander v. United States, 509 U.S. 544 (1993)

The law was applied broadly for much of its history, before the scope of enforcement narrowed after various court rulings, and modern enforcement is primarily focused on prosecuting child pornography (with the most recent conviction under the Act being made in 2021).^[6][7] In spite of its contentious nature, something that has throughout the years spawned a variety of legal challenges on enumerated powers doctrine, vagueness doctrine, First Amendment grounds, etc., the Comstock Act has thus far been widely upheld as constitutional.^{[note 1]}

The Comstock Act does not criminalize obscenity, criminal incitement, or abortion directly but it criminalizes the use of the mail, a common carrier, or an interactive computer service in the conveyance of these materials. Since abortion pills like mifepristone are used in over 50% of American abortions,^[8][9] the Comstock Act has been the focus of more legal, political, and media attention following litigation and legislative activity by various actors in the U.S. anti-abortion movement who aim to utilize the Act's provisions to restrict abortion access in the United States.^[10][11]

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