Dec 11 2008
The Case Against Christopher Handley
Edited: I’m re-writing the introduction to this piece. As I stated in the original, I am not an expert on manga and I do wish to lay claim to that. The case against Christopher Handley in Iowa though still caused me enough worry to write this piece and I stand by it. So I humbly submit my thoughts on the subject.
Added 12/13: For more more information regarding this case, I will include links regarding the case and any major updates:
CBLDF To Serve As Special Consultant In PROTECT Act Manga Case - via CBLDF Website
Neil Gaiman On The ‘Obscenity’ Of Manga Collector Christopher Handley’s Trial - MTV
Like many anime fans in the country, I have been aware of the case against Christopher Handley in Iowa. Unfortunately details about this case weren’t entirely clear for me. All I knew is that a man was about to be tried on obscenity charges because he purchased a manga from Japan that police found offensive. Finally today I learned many more details about what is actually happening in Iowa.
In 2006, Handley ordered some manga from Japan that was intercepted by the postal inspector. After that inspector deemed the manga as ‘obscene’, a search warrant was obtained for Handley’s home. Agents from four different law enforcement agencies then searched his home and began seizing his collection of manga, DVDs, artbooks and more.
Handley is being charged with obscenity charges and if found guilty after his trial, could face up to 20 years in prison. No, he has no right to claim free speech because obscenity laws overrule free speech laws. He is almost literally facing a firing squad because he decided to buy manga. He will be facing charges from the PROTECT Act which means that he will also be labeled as a sex offender because some of the characters in the manga appeared to be underage children involved in sexual activity.Let me repeat that, there was a manga character that appeared to be under eighteen doing something that could be considered sexual.
Let’s start with the under eighteen part. If you read manga, this part should have caught your attention right away. Look up at your collection right now and start thinking about every character from the series that you enjoy that look like they could be under eighteen. And I don’t mean the loli characters that look like they could be twelve or thirteen. I mean think about those young adult characters, or the teenage characters who may in fact be under eighteen. Now think about some of the situations that they get into… possibly showing skin in a swimsuit? maybe flashing their panties at someone either intentionally or accidently? Congratulations, you have material that could be deemed obscene and showing an underage character in what someone has perceived as a sexual activity. You may now go to prison for 20 years, do not pass go, do not collect $200. This is the true and genuine reality that we could possibly face if a guilty verdict is heard when this case is finished.
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has come to the rescue of Mr. Handley though by defending him in this case. While normally they are associated with defending the rights of American comic artists, writers and others, they have decided to bridge the gap and help him win his case. Even the legendary Neil Gaiman has stepped forward and has done all that he can to help fundraise for the defense. This is more than just a manga fan being charged for enjoying his hobby, this is a man being charged with possessing artwork that someone else decided was too obscene to be sold within the country.
Let’s face it everyone, this is a really big deal because he didn’t do anything wrong! All of us have something in our anime or manga collection that could be considered ‘obscene’ by someone. Anime and manga artwork have a very vague style that makes age an almost arbitrary device. And now a jury will look at these images and decide for Handley what is and isn’t obscene. Somehow I highly doubt that when a jury of his peers is chosen, he’s not going to be so lucky as to get twelve manga fans who already know how ridiculous this is. He’s going to get twelve average citizens who, let’s face it since he is in Iowa, may have never even heard of manga before. Have absolutely no idea behind its history or the style behind the artwork.
It’s not a matter of just a series being dirty and being banned from being published, it’s a matter of artwork. One panel from one manga where a character that may or may not be under eighteen is flashing her panties at someone. Someone finds that obscene and you’re an obscene sex offender doing twenty years because you bought a manga or anime. I don’t know about you but that’s about half my collection right there.
What many people are also not realizing is how far obscenity laws can reach: music, games, books, DVDs is all fair game. How many of you out there play ero games? How easy would it be for someone who had no real knowledge of the artwork coming along, deciding that the characters in the game you are playing looking way too close to being under eighteen and then deciding to arrest you for it? It doesn’t matter if the characters are labeled as over eighteen, the artwork is all that it takes and the fact that you owned it is all that matters.
A guilty verdict cannot be allowed to pass through. On my website I am going to place a link to the CBLDF store and all proceeds that I earn through that link will be donated right back to the CBLDF . That link will remain on my site until this trial is over and I urge all of you to do the same thing. There are many different ways that you can help including getting the word out about this case but the most important thing to do right now is donate to the defense fund.All of us are hurting right now, some of us are feeling that pinch worse than others. But if you have money to spend on your hobby, than you have something that you can give to this fund. If it means that one volume of anime or one manga release will have to wait one more month, wouldn’t it be nice to know that you’ve done something to insure that anime or manga will STILL BE THERE in one month?
This is not going to be an easy case to win because obscenity is one of the most subjective ideas in the entire human existence but with everyone’s support we can do this. If you are a manga or anime fan, the magnitude of this is real. All of the drama and words of anger are real and deserved. This is the first time that a manga fan has ever been punished for buying a manga and if he is found guilty, it opens the gate for any single one of us out there to feel the same thing. Any single one of us could find ourselves handcuffed and arrested in front of friends and family because something in our anime or manga collection was found ‘obscene’ no matter how innocent that particular part was in context. Particularly those in the United States. Please go yourself and urge others to visit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
Edited 12/13: A sentence in this editoral originally stated that Handley’s arrest took place earlier this year, the CBLDF states that the arrest took place in 2006. I apologize for the error.
Ah, another Today.com user! I love anime/manga. I’m really into Negima! right now. Have you ever read/seen it? Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to exchange blogroll links? I also have an anime site.
how is that illegal in an episode of csi a guy took young looking girls that were over 18 and made them look younger with computers so their images were under 18 but they couldn’t even arrest him let alone charge him. the only reason he went to jail is because he harrassed a former sex offender with his site to the breaking piont. and what about girls gone wild they used girls under 18 no one went to jail then and let’s not forget playboy. now let me give you a hypathetical situation your wife looks like she is under 18 this case is saying even though she’s 32 ever time you have sex with her you are breaking laws.
they can’t arrest a guy who bought manga overseas, because he himself isn’t a sex offender, has he screwed around with anyone lately?
Let’s break this down:
1. Showing of panties - If the “frame” in question is the showing of panties, then it cannot be deemed obscene lest every beach or swimming pool be banned. Do not women and girls wear panties that we call swim wear?
2. Virtual depiction of illegal acts - Here, if it really is in the PROTECT act, then free speech is affected. Every movie, book, artwork, poster, etc that depicts an illegal act (stealing, murder, rape, underage sex, prostitution, drug use, etc) then is guilty. See, the purposeful filming of illegal acts conducted for filming is not protected under free speech. However, you can simulate dangerous and illegal acts. This is done in Hollywood all the time. To say there are certain illegal acts you cannot simulate would be thrown out by the SCOTUS.
3. Import - ok, here is where the line can be drawn. There can be limits on what is imported in the US. However, this is not the issue in this case.
Really, this boils down to virtual creation of what MAY be a crime. And that is open to interpretation. Hell, all the defendant could do is show an old episode of Beverly Hills 90210 (all actors over 20 playing 17 year olds) where one girl happened to be in panties to show the court the idiocy of this law.
Let’s face it, there’s LOTS of stupid laws on the books. It’s that many of them are not really enforced. However, one moron thinks he has standing to be a jerk (the postal inspector), so now we have to deal with it. Reminds me of when the Secret Service raided Steve Jackson Games in Austin, Tx cause it produced a game called “Hacker”. The SS eventually lost in court and had to reimburse the company.
To all law makers THERE’S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FANTASY AND REALITY!!!!
The biggest point here that law officials are failing to realize is that these are drawings and not real people. Doesn’t that matter? No children were harmed in the making of this manga.
How about this for a twist, I was told to remove around twelve copies of Marvels spiderman comics from my english schools book library as they were deemed ‘obscene’. The owner of the school complained that the showing of womens clevage was not appropiate - ironic me thinks
This is crazy.
I work in a bookstore. I’ve been then for almost four years, and I read manga and watch anime. I’m the authority of manga in that store. And you know what, I can think of at least 5 manga series on the shelf right now that is being sold legally in the USA that would fit this prosecution as being ‘obscene’. Someone had to have approved it to be sold in the US and yet they are getting a guy for ordering in a series (that was probably still written in Japanese) so he could have it in his collection. This is just ridiculous that this is going on.
I hope that at least one jury member read manga or read comics as a kid at least once in their life. This is crazy! we sell things here in the US that you can get at your local stores that are more obscene than manga, and yet someone ordering in manga from Japan is being prosecuted over something that we will probably be getting in a year or two. I want to know what manga it was now! I want to flip through this book he got and see just what it is - but then i’d probably get even more angry about this guy being prosecuted over nothing (especially since it’ll probably say in the front cover how old the characters are). I’ll definitely be supporting Handley. He doesn’t deserve this. If this guy goes to jail, probably a quarter of America will be locked up over owning Manga and Anime if he gets a guilty on this case. That’s just not right. Manga and Anime are a hobby (even if you go to conventions and dress up, it’s just for fun! FUN. remember what that used to be America?) Just let the guy have his manga!
@Damgel: Somehow I have the feeling that when Mr. Handley faces a jury of his “peers” the odds are against him that a manga reader will be on the panel. The trial begins in just a couple of weeks though and hopefully I will have an update for everyone then.
Maybe Obama will replace the Southern District of Iowa’s USA with an attorney who knows as waste of money when he sees it.
I hope that the new administration will pass legislation to undo the harm caused to the First Amendment by the Bush Administration as well as purge the books of archaic obscenity laws that are grossly incompatible with the internet or even common sense.
Imagine if the FDA refused to publish guidelines on what “Misbranded or Adulterated” meant, and instead required criminal jeopardy for manufacturers to determine whether or not their products met such definitions, which also hinged on “community standards” (a.k.a, thousands of different standards for the entire country).
@Joe Zynth: I’m not 100% who’s jurisdiction this falls under, I somehow doubt that the national government is going to take the time to do anything about this. They have enough on their plates as it is. It could happen though I suppose.
I remember the first manga I every download, (About 9 years ago) it was La Blue Girl. My sister found it and told my dad about it. I remember being scare until, he said, he wanted to see it. But it was already long gone. An story from the backwaters of Wisconsin.
@theleoandtherat: hehe yes, I believe that just might count as obscene in some places.
That is wrong. They should leave him alone. He did nothing to harm anyone. If I lived close to Iowa I would be one of those weirdo’s outside the jail holding out a sign saying “Free Handley” or something like that. I’m a Manga fan, and yes, I read Yaoi, Yuri, and Hentai. I even draw anime pics. Like said before, he didn’t harm any one. And I know I’ve drawing a picture once or twice that would be considered ‘obscene’. I’m 18 now, and I’ve seen a lot of other artist work that would be considered ‘obscene’ and they were younger than me. At my school’s Art competition last year, I saw a picture a girl drew of two girls kissing, it was very graphic and no one complained about it at all. What people should realize is that Anime/Manga is a art, and art should be expressed in any way without anyone getting in trouble. And I want to make my own Manga one day, Maybe I’ll go draw my own Yoai, Yuri and Hentai. I don’t see people getting arrested for reading books that talk about sex, which I’ve seen in the ‘Relationship’s’ section at Hastings. This is every upsetting and also showing how dumb some people are. I am not proud to say I’m from America because of this case. -.- I wish I could contact Chris to give him some support.