R v Penguin Books Ltd

E1003061

R v Penguin Books Ltd was a landmark 1960 English obscenity trial in which the publisher of D. H. Lawrence’s novel "Lady Chatterley’s Lover" was acquitted, significantly liberalizing publishing and censorship laws in the UK.

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf criminal court case ⓘ
landmark legal case ⓘ
obscenity trial ⓘ
appliedTest tendency to deprave and corrupt ⓘ
areaOfLaw freedom of expression ⓘ
obscenity law ⓘ
publishing law ⓘ
centralLegalIssue definition of obscenity ⓘ
test of literary merit ⓘ
charge publishing an obscene article ⓘ
concernedWorkAuthor D. H. Lawrence ⓘ
concernedWorkTitle Lady Chatterley’s Lover ⓘ
country United Kingdom ⓘ
court Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) ⓘ
dateEnd 1960-11-02 ⓘ
dateStart 1960-10-20 ⓘ
defenceCounsel Gerald Gardiner ⓘ
Jeremy Hutchinson ⓘ
defendant Penguin Books Ltd ⓘ
linked to: Penguin Books
historicalSignificance key moment in the British sexual revolution ⓘ
milestone in the decline of traditional censorship in Britain ⓘ
impact greater freedom to publish sexually explicit literature ⓘ
liberalization of censorship laws in the UK ⓘ
liberalization of publishing laws in the UK ⓘ
shift in British social and moral attitudes in the 1960s ⓘ
introducedEvidenceType evidence of literary merit ⓘ
expert literary testimony ⓘ
jurisdiction England and Wales ⓘ
juryDecision unanimous verdict ⓘ
language English ⓘ
legalBasis Obscene Publications Act 1959 ⓘ
location London ⓘ
linked to: London, England
notableQuoteContext “Is it a book that you would even wish your wife or your servants to read?” ⓘ
outcome acquittal ⓘ
precedentFor interpretation of “public good” defence ⓘ
later obscenity prosecutions in the UK ⓘ
presidingJudge Mr Justice Byrne ⓘ
prosecutingCounsel Mervyn Griffith-Jones ⓘ
prosecutionBy Director of Public Prosecutions ⓘ
prosecutorQuestion suitability of the book for wives and servants ⓘ
publicReaction seen as victory for literary freedom ⓘ
widespread media attention ⓘ
publisherDefendant Penguin Books ⓘ
relatedLegislation Obscene Publications Act 1959 ⓘ
subjectOfProsecution Lady Chatterley’s Lover ⓘ
novel by D. H. Lawrence ⓘ
timePeriod post-war Britain ⓘ
verdict not guilty ⓘ
year 1960 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Lady Chatterley's Lover → legalCase → R v Penguin Books Ltd ⓘ
Obscene Publications Act 1959 → relatedCase → R v Penguin Books Ltd [1961] (Lady Chatterley’s Lover trial) ⓘ
linked to: R v Penguin Books Ltd
The Chatterley Affair → depictsEvent → R v Penguin Books Ltd (1960) ⓘ
linked to: R v Penguin Books Ltd
The Chatterley Affair → portrays → Penguin Books obscenity prosecution ⓘ
linked to: R v Penguin Books Ltd