Three hours after Larry Flynt turned himself in to Hamilton County authorities Thursday on obscenity charges, the porn peddler won one small victory -- a hearing on his plea for a new judge.
Judge Norbert Nadel of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court agreed to postpone his arraignment -- originally set for Tuesday -- until he hears Mr. Flynt's complaints that he wrongly assigned himself to hear the headline-grabbing case. That hearing will be Tuesday. Mr. Flynt's attorneys are asking the judge to allow the case to be assigned randomly -- as court protocol requires. Prosecutors and defense attorneys already have asked Judge Nadel to step down, saying his maneuvering guarantees an appeal.
"I just hope that we'll end up with a judge who has the courage to see that we'll have a fair trial," Mr. Flynt said Thursday. "I want to win this at the trial level; I don't want to have to win this on appeal."
Judge Nadel claimed the case four days after the original judge stepped aside because of a potential conflict of interest. When Judge John O'Connor bowed out, he ordered the case to be randomly reassigned to another judge in the presence of Mr. Flynt's attorneys. Judge Nadel's action on the case violated that order.
Mr. Flynt arrived at the Hamilton County Courthouse to process his arrest paperwork about 10:30 a.m. Thursday, oblivious to the light rain and the pointing fingers of gawking passers-by. He later was taken to the Hamilton County Justice Center, where deputies fingerprinted and photographed him.
A small crowd followed throughout, including his brother Jimmy Flynt, companion Liz Berrios, free-speech attorneys from Cincinnati, Los Angeles and Buffalo, N.Y., bodyguards, journalists and supporters.
"I've been waiting for this for 21 years," the Hustler publisher said, as about 20 reporters and photographers jockeyed for space around him. "I'm going to win."
In 1977, Mr. Flynt was convicted of pandering obscenity for selling Hustler in Hamilton County. Although the conviction was thrown out on appeal, the magazine wasn't sold in the county until last October, when Mr. Flynt opened a bookstore on Sixth Street. Mr. Flynt was indicted in April on nine counts of pandering obscenity, three counts of disseminating material harmful to a juvenile, two counts of conspiracy and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
Louis Browning, known as "Smokin' Louie" of WAIF-FM (88.3), hands out shirts that proclaim, "Free Larry."
(Steven M. Herppich photo)
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The charges concern sales of sexually explicit videotapes; authorities also allege that Hustler clerks sold tapes to a 14-year-old boy.
The magazine publisher faces 24 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
But Thursday, as he wiped fingerprinting-ink residue from his hands outside the justice center, Mr. Flynt predicted a victory. "I've got a lot of supporters and pretty soon, the prosecutors are going to realize that," he said.
As if to emphasize that, about 15 supporters tagged behind Mr. Flynt, offering him awed exclamations of appreciation.
The supporters were mostly University of Cincinnati students and hemp activists. They wore "Free Larry" T-shirts and waved signs supporting Mr. Flynt.
In a separate case, the city has filed charges that the Hustler store is violating city laws requiring adult businesses to be licensed and located in industrial zones.
"I heard about this ordinance the city council passed, where they said a certain ratio of a business must be non-adult, and it sounds like that ordinance was directed toward Mr. Flynt. But justice is supposed to be blind; it's not supposed to be directed toward anyone," said Matt Winship, 20, a UC criminal justice student. Agreed demonstrator Jessica Jackson, 21, of Clifton: "I wouldn't personally look at pornography, but if someone wants to, they should have the right to do it."
After leaving the courthouse, Mr. Flynt headed to his store, where he spent the afternoon signing autographs.
