Which legal standard is used to evaluate whether material is obscene in this context?

• A. Roth test
• B. Miller obscenity standard
• C. Strict Scrutiny
• D. Central Hudson

Answer: (B)

The Miller test from Miller v. California is the standard used to determine obscenity. It asks three things: first, would the average person applying contemporary community standards find the work prurient, meaning appealing to sexual interest; second, does the work depict or describe sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and third, does the work lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value (the SLAPS prong). If material meets all three, it’s deemed obscene and not protected by the First Amendment. The Roth test is an older framework that the Miller standard replaced; strict scrutiny and Central Hudson govern other areas (fundamental rights and commercial speech, respectively) and aren’t the specific test for obscenity.