Vladimir Nabokov

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[EDNOTE. A List member sends this account of references to VN in legal
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ALL CITATIONS TO VLADIMIR NABOKOV IN REPORTED U.S. LEGAL CASES:


1. U.S. v. Whorley, 550 F.3d 326, 2008 WL 5265645, , C.A.4 (Va.),
December 18, 2008 (No. 06-4288.) ...works and Academy Award winners
raises the question of whether his work is within a zone of expression
accepted as having artistic value. By utilizing classic literary
devices,
writers like Nabakov were able to insulate the reader from the
disagreeable
nature of the subject matter. See, e.g., Amazon.com, Editorial Review
of
Lolita, http:// www. amazon. com/ Lolita- Vladimir- Nabokov/ dp/
0679723161
(last viewed on July 8, 2008) ( ³Lolita is undoubtedly, brazenly
erotic, but
the eroticism springs less from the Œfrail honey-hued shoulders the
silky
supple bare back¹ of...

2. State v. Chipi, Not Reported in A.2d, 2008 WL 4287290, ,
N.J.Super.A.D., September 22, 2008 ...jury did not find Montalvan
credible with regard to his claim that the robber was armed. Any other
interpretation of the jury's verdict simply ³feigns remoteness² from
the
facts. Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire (1962), line 132. See also note 8,
infra.
II Since defense counsel never requested a Wade hearing to test the
sufficiency of the out-of-court identification, we...

3. U.S. v. Griesbach, 540 F.3d 654, 2008 WL 4052912, , C.A.7
(Wis.),
September 02, 2008 (No. 07-3357.) ...have doubted that ³child
erotica²
was a legitimate photographic genre. But perhaps it is; for there is a
vein
of high-culture child-erotic art, illustrated in literature by
Vladimir
Nabokov's famous novel Lolita and in the visual arts by the erotic
paintings
of prepubescent girls by the distinguished modern artist Balthus
(Balthasar
Klossowski de Rola), such as The Guitar Lesson...

4. Kings English, Inc. v. Shurtleff, Slip Copy, 2008 WL 3285898,
,
D.Utah, August 08, 2008 (No. 2:05-CV-485.) ...Margaret Atwood's
novel
Oryx and Crake, features two nude female torsos joined as one. Other
examples include advertisements for D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterly's
Lover,
Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, and Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, But
none of
the books listed by Plaintiffs have ever been found by a court in the
State
of Utah to be material harmful to minors. Neither have the...

5. Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Foundation, Inc. v.
B%20uchel, 565 F.Supp.2d 245, 2008 WL 2755842, 2008 Copr.L.Dec. P
29,637, ,
D.Mass., July 11, 2008 (C.A. No. 07-30089-MAP.) ...also requested
that
his writings be destroyed when he died. Fortunately for the world,
these
instructions were disregarded. In May of this year the New York Times
reported that Dmitri Nabokov would publish the manuscript of the last
novel
of his father Vladimir, tentatively entitled ³The Original of Laura,²
despite the author's instruction to burn it. Steve Coates, His
Father's
Siren...

6. Big Hat Books v. Prosecutors, 565 F.Supp.2d 981, 2008 WL
2610177, ,
S.D.Ind., July 01, 2008 (No. 1:08-cv-00596-SEB-TAB.) ...Barden Aff. ¶¶
1,
3. Big Hat Books sells literature with ³strong sexual content² which
³is not
appropriate for all children,² such as D.H. Lawrence's Lady
Chatterley's
Lover and Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, as well as books about adult
human
sexuality, including ³works that contain explicit information of a
sexual
nature.² Id. ¶¶ 4-6. Big Hat Books also has a large...

7. Kings English, Inc. v. Shurtleff, --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2007 WL
4255268, , D.Utah, November 29, 2007 (No. 2:05-CV-485.) ...Crake,
which
is displayed on-line, features two nude female torsos joined as one.
Other
examples include advertisements for D.H. Lawrence's Lady Charterly's
Lover,
Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, and Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. The
King's
English argues that by advertising these and other similar materials
on-line, they have a credible fear of prosecution under § 76-10-1206
The
King's English...

8. U.S. v. Curtin, 489 F.3d 935, 2007 WL 1500295, 73 Fed. R.
Evid.
Serv. 646, 07 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5781, 2007 Daily Journal D.A.R.
8099, ,
C.A.9 (Nev.), May 24, 2007 (No. 04-10632.) ...100th Cong., 2d Sess.
at 16
(1988), U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 1988 at pp. 4342-1, 4342-13 to
4342-14).
FN2. Edward Abbey, The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975). FN3. Vladimir
Nabokov,
Lolita (1955). FN4. William S. Burroughs, Junky: Originally Published
as
Junkie Under the Pen Name of William Lee (1977). FN5. The Thomas Crown
Affair (United Artists 1968) and The Thomas...

9. U.S. v. Shields, 458 F.3d 269, 2006 WL 2361465, , C.A.3 (Pa.),
August 16, 2006 (No. 05-3662.) ...course, as noted by the district
court,
despite the appropriation of the term by child pornographers, the term
actually has a more distinguished pedigree rooted in the literature of
Vladimir Nabokov, and, before him, Heinz von Lichberg. Nonetheless,
given
the context of this case and the lack of any representation to the
contrary,
we reject the possibility that Shields' use of the name
³LittleLolitaLove²
was related to the texts of Nabokov or von Lichberg. Shields' use of
the
³LittleLolitaLove² e-mail address sets his case even further apart
from
Perez and Strauser than does his membership in two e-groups devoted...

10. Farrell v. Burke, 449 F.3d 470, 2006 WL 1486998, , C.A.2
(N.Y.),
May 31, 2006 (Docket No. 05-0169 CV.) ...in Cabot, ³One man's
pornography
may be another's keepsake.² 325 F.3d at 385 (quoting Giano v.
Senkowski, 54
F.3d 1050, 1056 (2d Cir.1995) According to some, Vladamir Nabokov's
novel
Lolita, or the film adaptation of the book, or ³Edouard Manet's Le
Dejeuner
sur L'Herbe is pornographic (or even some of the Calvin Klein
advertisements). United States v. Loy...

11. U.S. v. Curtin, 443 F.3d 1084, 2006 WL 851755, 69 Fed. R.
Evid.
Serv. 972, 06 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 2765, 2006 Daily Journal D.A.R.
3945, ,
C.A.9 (Nev.), April 04, 2006 (No. 04-10632.) ...does not
distinguish
between specific intent crimes and other crimes. ³Under the
government's
theory, the case against an accused child molester would be stronger if
he
owned a copy of Nabokov's Lolita, and any murder defendant would be
unfortunate to have in his possession a collection of Agatha Christie
mysteries Shymanovitz, 157 F.3d at 1159. Put simply, Shymanovitz is
replete...

12. U.S. v. Doan, Slip Copy, 2006 WL 5866677, , W.D.Wis., March
13,
2006 (No. 05-CR-179-S.) ...14 and younger and never shown at our
sites
before Sutherland Affidavit at ¶ 47. Clearly, these sites were not
geared
toward generating intellectual discussions regarding the literary
merits of
Nabokov. Equally clearly, a person willing to plunk down over $100 to
visit
the ³members only² sections of these websites was expecting some value
for
his money. Maybe some subscribers paid...

13. U.S. v. Gourde, 440 F.3d 1065, 2006 WL 574302, 06 Cal. Daily
Op.
Serv. 2046, 2006 Daily Journal D.A.R. 2886, , C.A.9 (Wash.), March 09,
2006
(No. 03-30262.) ...McKEOWN GOULD CALLAHAN , and BEA , Circuit
Judges.
McKEOWN , Circuit Judge: The term ³Lolita² conjures up images ranging
from
the literary depiction of the adolescent seduced by her stepfather in
Vladimir Nabokov's novel 1 to erotic displays of young girls and child
pornography. This case requires us to consider probable cause to search
a
computer for child pornography in the context of an Internet website,
known
as ³Lolitagurls.com,² that admittedly displayed child pornography.
FN1.
Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita (1955). Micah Gourde appeals from the
district
court's denial of his motion to suppress more than 100 images of child
pornography seized from his home computer. Gourde claims that ...
...site. Gourde was not an accidental browser, such as a student who
came
across the site after ³Googling² the term ³Lolita² while researching
the
Internet for a term paper on Nabokov's book. Nor was Gourde someone who
took
advantage of the free tour but, after viewing the site, balked at
taking the
active steps necessary to become a member and gain ... ...attraction
to
child pornography does not support an inference that a person possesses
it.
The affidavit sets out ample probable cause to infer, at least if one
knows
of Vladmir Nabakov's novel, that ³Lolitagurls.com² was a purveyor of
child
pornography: its name, its claim to have over 1,000 ³pictures of girls
age
12-17,² its reference to ³naked lolita girls,² and...

14. U.S. v. Syphers, 426 F.3d 461, 2005 WL 2674970, , C.A.1
(N.H.),
October 20, 2005 (No. 04-2438.) ...at 17 ³[T]he affidavit did not
specify with any detail the basis for believing that [the] images were
pornographic.² FN2. The name comes from the well-known novel by
Vladimir
Nabokov, Lolita, published fifty years ago about a man who became
obsessed
with seducing a young girl. What makes this a tough call is that the
application did not include the...

15. Athenaco, Ltd. v. Cox, 335 F.Supp.2d 773, 2004 WL 2071712, ,
E.D.Mich., September 02, 2004 (No. CIV.04-70027.) ...sexually
explicit
materials may be displayed or disseminated to minors. 2. First
Amendment
Analysis a. Scope of Materials to Which the Act Applies [6] [7]
Plaintiffs
contend that books like Nabokov's Lolita, Faulkner's Sanctuary,
Steinbeck's
Of Mice and Men, Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Roth's Portnoy's
Complaint, and Comfort's Joy of Sex, could be deemed harmful to minors
and,
thus...

16. U.S. v. Shields, Not Reported in F.Supp.2d, 2004 WL 832937, ,
M.D.Pa., April 14, 2004 (No. 4:CR-01-0384.) ...facts clearly link
Shields's home to criminal activity. FN3. The Oxford English
Dictionary
Online defines Lolita as follows: The name of a novel (1958) and its
main
character by Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) about a precocious
schoolgirl
seduced by a middle-aged man, used to designate people and situations
resembling those in the book. In 1916, 47 years before Nabokov's
novel,
Heinz von Lichberg, an author resident in the same area of Berlin as
Nabokov, wrote a short story centered on a young girl by the name of
Lolita
who seduced an adult boarder in her home. U.S. News & World Report,
April
12, 2004, page...

17. U.S. v. Simmons, 343 F.3d 72, 2003 WL 22048229, , C.A.2
(Vt.),
September 03, 2003 (Docket No. 02-1172.) ...in Cabot, ³[o]ne man's
pornography may be another's keepsake.² 325 F.3d at 385 (quoting Giano
v.
Senkowski, 54 F.3d 1050, 1056 (2d Cir.1995) According to some,
Vladamir
Nabokov's novel Lolita, or the film adaptation of the book, or
³Edouard
Manet's Le Dejeuner sur L'Herbe is pornographic (or even some of the
Calvin
Klein advertisements). United States v. Loy...

18. State v. Toccaline, Not Reported in A.2d, 2003 WL 21805476, ,
Conn.Super., July 18, 2003 (No. CR000109519.) ...argues that the use
of
the term, ³lolita² in the website domain name lends credence to this
conclusion. 10 FN10. The state argues that the term ³lolita,² derived
from
the Nabokov novel of the same name, is often a code word for child
pornography. See United States v. Grimes, 244 F.3d 375, 379 n. 7 (5th
Cir.Tex.2001) While the...

19. Cura Financial Services N.V. v. Electronic Payment Exchange,
Inc.,
Not Reported in A.2d, 2001 WL 1334188, , Del.Ch., October 22, 2001
(No.
CIV.A. 18278.) ...images of sexual activity which one can
confidently
assume do not exist within a larger literary or theatrical context. Put
more
bluntly, these merchants do not provide online access to Nabokov or
Joyce,
or even serious film-makers like Stanley Kubrick and Nagisa Oshima
whose
works included strong sexual content. Like gaming merchants, porn
merchants
like CC Bill had to worry...

20. Suntrust Bank v. Houghton Mifflin Co., 268 F.3d 1257, 2001 WL
1193890, 2001 Copr.L.Dec. P 28,326, 60 U.S.P.Q.2d 1225, 14 Fla. L.
Weekly
Fed. C 1391, , C.A.11 (Ga.), October 10, 2001 (No. 01-12200.) ...not
hard
to imagine a copyrighted story that parodies itself by design, or an
author
who makes a career out of parodying his own work in each subsequent
one.
(Vladimir Nabokov, among others, hinted at the potential for such
practices.
See, e.g., Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire (1962) (a novel consisting of a
poem
and substantial prose commentary on that poem). ) Suppose that this
hypothetical author in turn becomes the target of parody by another...

21. U.S. v. Fox, 248 F.3d 394, 2001 WL 370045, , C.A.5 (Tex.),
April
13, 2001 (No. 00-40034.) ...to artistic expression otherwise fully
protected under the First Amendment, 50 such as downloaded images of
the
famed erotic paintings of Balthus 51 or stills from a film version of
Nabokov's Lolita, we first recall that we must construe the statute, if
at
all possible, so as to avoid finding a constitutional violation. 52
Thus, we
agree with the First Circuit's...

22. U.S. v. Loy, 237 F.3d 251, 2001 WL 8957, , C.A.3 (Pa.),
January 04,
2001 (No. 99-3827.) ...as discussed below, might be Playboy , which
features nudity but not sexual conduct. It is also difficult to gauge
on
which side of the line the film adaptations of Vladimir Nabokov's
Lolita
would fall, or if Edouard Manet's Le Dejeuner sur L'Herbe is
pornographic
(or even some of the Calvin Klein advertisements), and we certainly
cannot
know whether the pornography condition...

23. U.S. v. Hilton, 167 F.3d 61, 1999 WL 44725, 27 Media L. Rep.
1289,
, C.A.1 (Me.), January 27, 1999 (No. 98-1513.) ...72, 115 S.Ct. 464
³[N]on-obscene, sexually explicit materials involving persons over the
age
of 17 are protected by the First Amendment.² [23] Take, for example, a
film
version of Nabokov's Lolita. A director might legitimately wish to
employ a
youthful-looking adult to portray, in a non-obscene manner, a sexual
encounter between Lolita and Humbert. Similarly, use of an...

24. People of Territory of Guam v. Shymanovitz, 157 F.3d 1154,
1998 WL
547097, 49 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1619, 98 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 6769, 98
Daily
Journal D.A.R. 9403, , C.A.9 (Guam), August 31, 1998(No. 96-10467.)
...reading material containing descriptions of numerous acts of
criminal
conduct. Under the government's theory, the case against an accused
child
molester would be stronger if he owned a copy of Nabokov's Lolita, and
any
murder defendant would be unfortunate to have in his possession a
collection
of Agatha Christie mysteries or even James Bond stories. Woe,
particularly,
to the son accused...

25. Urofsky v. Allen, 995 F.Supp. 634, 1998 WL 86587, 125 Ed. Law
Rep.
1118, 13 IER Cases 1281, , E.D.Va., February 26, 1998 (Civil Action
No.
97-701-A.) ...plaintiff, removed assignments on the recently
approved
Communications Decency Act); see also Plaintiffs' S.U.F. ¶ 94-95 (Act
may
prevent Delaney, also a plaintiff, from confirming a student's research
on
Nabokov's Lolita FN6. Likewise, the actions of Paul Smith, on which
defendant heavily relies, do not present a viable hostile work
environment
claim. The Commonwealth has cited no cases to support...

26. Finley v. National Endowment for the Arts, 100 F.3d 671, 1996
WL
636040, 65 USLW 2323, 96 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8056, 96 Daily Journal
D.A.R.
13,392, , C.A.9 (Cal.), November 05, 1996 (Nos. 92-56028, 92-56387 and
92-55089.) ...Bloom's soliloquy, Aristophanes' jokes about passing
gas,
Shakespeare's double entendres, the indecent kiss in Chaucer's
Miller's
Tale, and countless works by lesser artists, such as Samuel Clemens'
1601
and Vladimir Nabakov's Lolita, are all part of the ancient artistic
tradition of using the impolite or indecent in art. Every general art
history textbook reproduces and discusses Edouard Manet's Luncheon On
the...

27. U.S. v. Nelson, 847 F.2d 285, 1988 WL 51231, , C.A.6 (Ohio),
April
29, 1988 (No. 87-3095.) ...books found in Nelson's home however did
not
involve the use of children in their production. They are fictional
representations of ideas and thoughts, not dissimilar in that respect
from
Nabokov's Lolita and Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. The Supreme Court
has
³long recognized that the seizure of films or books on the basis of
their
content implicates First Amendment concerns...

28. U.S. v. Swanger, 679 F.Supp. 542, 1988 WL 11322, , W.D.N.C.,
February 17, 1988 (No. ST-CR-87-37.) ...Lolitta,² of course, refers
to a
sexual relationship between a man and a pre-teenager such as the one
described in the decidedly non-pornographic novel Lolita written by
Vladmir
Nabokov. See V. Nabokov, Lolita (1955). On May 20, 1985, Charlton sent
a
second letter to Swanger. The May 20th letter was on the same
stationery as
the May 13th letter, and it was...

29. Yudkin v. State, 229 Md. 223, 182 A.2d 798, , Md., July 05,
1962
(No. 300.) ...book had been cleared by the Post Office Department
for
circulation through the mails and that contemporary books (such as
Memoirs
of Hecate County by Edmund Wilson, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, By Love
Possessed by James Gould Cozzens, and Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H.
Lawrence) on sale generally in Montgomery County contained words and
descriptions claimed to be comparable to...

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