Out Like Flynt

Hustler publisher loses again

Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler and Chic, was spoiling for a First Amendment fight with Fulton County, Ga., Prosecutor Hinson McAuliffe, who had been waging an antipornography campaign for almost a decade. So in 1977 Flynt personally sold autographed copies of his skin magazines from a rented newsstand in Atlanta, and even had Hustler designate McAuliffe "Asshole of the Month." Sure enough, Flynt was quickly indicted for distributing obscene material. Last week he was convicted and fined $27,500. An eleven-year jail sentence was suspended on condition that he obey state obscenity statutes for the next eleven years. McAuliffe called the decision "a victory for decency."

Defiant as usual, Flynt said he would appeal the verdict and continue to send his magazines to Georgia subscribers. He listened intently through most of the eight-day trial, occasionally excusing himself to undergo physical therapy. He has been paralyzed from the knees down since being struck by an assassin's bullet last March during a recess in his trial on similar charges in nearby Gwinnett County. That case ended in a mistrial. A 1977 conviction in Cincinnati for pandering obscenity and engaging in organized crime is currently under appeal. Vowed the sultan of smut: "I will keep trying to get people to rally around these First Amendment issues and support them."

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