As a juror on the Movie Buffs trial, I would like to give my view on the community standards in Utah County.
First of all, the amount of adult films that had been rented by residents per month in the Lehi and American Fork Movie Buff stores were well over 150 each month for each store. Local video stores today are selling cable version adult movies. Stores located in the local malls are also making a large profit selling these adult cable version videos.You can go into a Kmart and buy a satellite and have Playboy, Penthouse or the Spice Channel available to you. As a resident of Utah County, you can program these channels in your home; all you need is your remote control. Pornography is available without having to leave your home, and it is all available right here in Utah County. Even local cable providers have these channels, even though they are not advertised, all you need to do is ask.
If the jury had decided to use the issue of community standards, four out of the six jury members would have acquitted Peterman. This tells me that the state failed to prove its case on the issue of what the community standards are in Utah County.
Clearly, as Utah County residents, we cannot overlook the fact that maybe the community standards which we believe we have in Utah County are not in reality true. Does this mean that we are losing our standards and have become less then what we would like to be as a community? Or does it mean that our community is made up of a variety of beliefs, standards and lifestyles that as a whole cannot be lumped into a defined definition of what a community standard is or what a community standard should be?
Kimberlee Clem
Provo