PSA: TRIAL DATE SET IN GORDON LEE CASE

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has learned that a date of September 12 has been set to begin the trial of the Gordon Lee case. The trial is scheduled to begin just four days following the hearing on the motions filed by CBLDF counsel. To date, the Fund has spent in excess of $30,000 defending this case and anticipates needing to spend at least that much to properly wage the trial.

Since January the Fund has waged an aggressive defense of Lee, who faces two counts of the felony charge “Distribution of Material Depicting Nudity or Sexual Conduct” (OCGA §16-12-81), a law that bans the unsolicited delivery of any content depicting nudity to any person in the state of Georgia and carries a penalty of one to three years in prison and/or fines of up to $10,000. One of the two counts is for handing the comic to the alleged victim, and the other is for handing the comic to an alleged John or Jane Doe. Lee is also charged with five counts of violating the misdemeanor of “Distribution of Material Harmful to Minors” (OCGA §16-12-103). He is charged with three discrete counts of violating the law for handing a single copy of the comic book to the alleged victim. He is also charged with two counts for allegedly giving the comics to John or Jane Doe. Last May, Alan Begner and Paul Cadle, attorneys representing Lee for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, filed four motions challenging these counts.

CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein says, “Our legal team has been working hard in anticipation of a trial, and now that we have a date on the horizon they are moving full steam ahead in preparing our case. We’re optimistic about our arguments going in.”

“That said,” Brownstein adds, “the late summer trial date places even greater urgency on our fundraising initiatives this summer. The strategy we’re working from is aggressive, and a first rate, aggressive legal strategy is very expensive to maintain. This summer, more so than any other time since I’ve been at the Fund, we need the support of the comics community. We need generous bids at our San Diego and Wizard World auctions, we need people to sign up and renew their memberships, and we need supporters who believe in the importance of the work we’re doing to increase their support. We have the brainpower at our disposal to wage a first rate defense, but now, more than ever, we need the money to pay for that defense. This is war time, and we need the combined support of the professional, retail, publishing, and fan communities to help us wage this war properly.”

CBLDF HOSTS ALL-STAR SAN DIEGO AUCTION

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