Section 1140 | CALCRIM (Jury Instructions)

1. It shows or describes sexual conduct in an obviously offensive
way;
2. A reasonable person would conclude that it lacks serious literary,
artistic, political, or scientific value for minors;
AND
3. An average adult person, applying contemporary statewide
standards, would conclude it appeals to prurient interest.
For the purpose of this instruction, an intimate body part includes the
sexual organ, anus, groin, or buttocks of any person, or the breasts of a
female.
A prurient interest is a shameful or morbid interest in nudity, sex, or
excretion.
Material, as used in this instruction, means any (book, magazine,
newspaper, video recording, or other printed or written material[;]/ [or]
any picture, drawing, photograph, motion picture, or other pictorial
representation[;]/ [or] any statue or other figure[;]/ [or] any recording,
transcription, or mechanical, chemical, or electrical reproduction[;]/ [or]
any other articles, equipment, machines, or materials). [Material includes
live or recorded telephone messages when transmitted or distributed as
part of a commercial transaction.]
Applying contemporary statewide standards means using present-day
standards and determining the effect of the material on all those whom it
is likely to reach within the state, in other words, its impact on the
average person in the statewide community. The average adult person is a
hypothetical person who represents the entire community, including both
men and women; religious and nonreligious people; and adults of
varying ages, educational and economic levels, races, ethnicities, and
points of view. The contemporary statewide standard means what is
acceptable to the statewide community as a whole, not what some person
or persons may believe the community ought to accept. The test you
must apply is not what you find offensive based on your own personal,
social, or moral views. Instead, you must make an objective
determination of what would offend the statewide community as a whole.
[You may consider evidence of local community standards in deciding
what the contemporary statewide standard is. However, you may not use
the standard of a local community, by itself, to establish the
contemporary statewide standard.]
The material is not harmful unless a reasonable person would conclude
that, taken as a whole, it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or
scientific value for minors. When deciding whether the material is
harmful, do not weigh its value against its prurient appeal.
CALCRIM No. 1140
SEX OFFENSES
884

[The depiction of nudity, by itself, does not make material harmful. In
order for material containing nudity to be harmful, it must depict sexual
activity and it must meet the requirements for harmful material listed
above.]
[The depiction of sexual activity, by itself, does not make material
harmful. In order for material depicting sexual activity to be harmful, it
must meet the requirements for harmful material listed above.]
The People must prove that the defenda