Dworkin v. Magazine

Andrea Dworkin is a prominent and outspoken feminist author and activist. She is a vocal advocate for the prohibition of pornography, and was one of the principal drafters of the ordinance against pornography enacted by the city of Indianapolis and struck down as unconstitutional. See American Booksellers Assn, Inc. v. Hudnut, 771 F.2d 323 (7th Cir. 1985), affd mem., 475 U.S. 1001, 106 S. Ct. 1172, 89 L. Ed. 2d 291 (1986). By her own admission, she is a public figure in this case. Hustler Magazine is a pornographic periodical. Much of its content consists of what we have recently described as "disgusting and distasteful abuse." See Ault v. Hustler Magazine, Inc., 860 F.2d 877, 884 (9th Cir. 1988). It is frequently named as a defendant in lawsuits such as this. See generally, e.g., Hustler Magazine v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46, 108 S. Ct. 876, 99 L. Ed. 2d 41 (1988); Leidholdt v. L.F.P. Inc., 860 F.2d 890, 892 (9th Cir. 1988) (citing cases); Ault, 860 F.2d at 877.