Paul Little, a.k.a. “Max Hardcore” was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for producing dirty movies. While I’m sure that the ghost of Andrea Dworkin is doing backflips of joy, the founding fathers are rolling in their graves.
Glenn Greenwald had this to say in Slate:
So, to recap, in the Land of the Free: if you’re an adult who produces a film using other consenting adults, for the entertainment of still other consenting adults, which merely depicts fictional acts of humiliation and degradation, the DOJ will prosecute you and send you to prison for years. The claim that no real pain was inflicted will be rejected; mere humiliation is enough to make you a criminal. But if government officials actually subject helpless detainees in their custody to extreme mental abuse, degradation, humiliation and even mock executions long considered “torture” in the entire civilized world, the DOJ will argue that they have acted with perfect legality and, just to be sure, Congress will hand them retroactive immunity for their conduct. That’s how we prioritize criminality and arrange our value system. (source)
I am constrained by the rules regulating the Florida Bar from commenting on the Judge in this case. However, the Tampa Bay Online reports that she seemed to have a lot of trouble differentiating between acting and the real world. (source)
By Email
By RSS Feed
The Legal Satyricon 
Not only is this problematic from a Constitutional standpoint but the rule applied would seem to include: Jackass, Punk’d, America’s Funniest Home Videos, etc… See, the videos portray “sadistic conduct. …This is clearly degrading, clearly humiliating and intended to be so.”
Not to mention, those being “humiliated” are consenting adults (this cannot be said enough). If I consent to the act and consent to the video and consent to the paycheck for all the above, then what is the problem?
Btw, does anyone else see the irony in this comment: “Clearly, there seemed to be pain.” ….Clearly Leonardo DiCaprio seemed to die in Titanic.
even if the acts were humiliating, you could go so far as to say that the female performers were PAID to consent to participate in humiliating acts.
i reserve the right, as all americans do, to consent to be humiliated, speak my mind and bear arms for pay or for free at pretty much any time i want.
if there was pain, if there was humiliation, if, if, if…
they consented and they were paid.
were the female performers asked if they felt pain or humiliation?
yes they were, and they denied any feelings of pain or humiliation.
the determination that pain and humiliation was intended was made by the JURY WHO DID NOT CONSENT TO PERFORM IN AN ADULT VIDEO.
they absolutely can’t be the individuals determining the presence of pain and humiliation.
did any female performer file suit?
no, the female performer in question sat happily in the court and said she enjoyed the experience.
they’re adults and they can do what they want, they’ve seen his movies and they know the theme.
the judge seems to be having a difficult time determing the difference between the real world where we exist and make believe land where we dream and create and ACT IN VIDEOS.
An appeal is forthcoming I presume?
I would assume so, but I have no inside information at this time.
“clearly there seemed to be pain” yes is an ironic statement …but what you have to realize is that the girls ARE in pain… has anyone ever seen a max hardcore movie… the girls are clearly being taken advantage of.. and are not old enough or have the right mind to make those decisions ..
there is a reason max/ paul is surrounded by body guards where ever he goes…
he is now going to experience what all the girls have felt …. sodomy of the finest caliber !!!
i understand the law is the law and unfortunaltey there are alot of grey areas…
but in this case… i have to admit i’m glad
Well, David, I’d like to see your evidence that “the girls are clearly being taken advantage of.” When the only evidence provided was of Max Hardcore’s actresses claiming that they willingly participated and enjoyed the experience.
Your second moronic statement — that the girls are not old enough or have the right mind to make these decisions — what is your evidence of this? If they are 18 years old, they are old enough. If they are somehow mentally ill, where is that allegation, let alone proof?
Finally, I’ve never seen Mr. Little “surrounded by body guards.”
If you’re glad to see someone else get raped, lets hope that one day you find yourself buggered against your will.
Your comments about Judge Bucklew are uncalled for. Little’s videos were deemed legally obscene by the jury which convicted him. She followed the sentencing guidelines in imposing the sentence. If you have a problem with the law, write your congressman. But dont blame the Judge for following the law. That is her job and she did it correctly. I believe the sentencing enhancement guidelines say that a portrayal of S&M qualifies for the enhancement. I am not sure of the exact language, but it definitely includes the word portrayal. Whether or not the girls involved say they enjoyed it is not terribly relevant. You would expect those comments from a newspaper, but not from a lawyer.
Well “anon” … where did I make any comment about Judge Bucklew?
If you are going to make moronic comments on this blog, at least sign your name. That shithead David at least provided proper contact information for his rape comment.
While, I completely disagree with what “anon” said, outing his school is not cool, imo. I for one value online anonymity. I think it is up to the person to decide what information to disclose. If you wish to have a blog that requires identifying yourself before making a comment, I’m sure you can set it up to do so. However, as it is now, you permit anonymity, and I think you should respect that, even if the anonymous poster leaves a moronic message.
Actually, as it is set up, it requires you to leave a name and email address. Anon left “fake@yahoo.com.”
While I may have had good reasons, your point is well taken. I’ve deleted that information.
David,
I hope you don’t really feel glad that the constitution was trampled by allowing these charges to be presented to a jury. I’ve never seen a Max Hardcore movie, but I have a hard time viewing censorship of any material involving consenting adults as justifiable under the first amendment.
I may not like the speech that Max Hardcore produces. I may not choose to view it. But I am grateful that he has the right (or should have the right) to make such speech. Which of our liberties will be stripped from us next? When we start allowing rights to be chiseled away, we are stepping on a slippery slope.
[…] senator Estes Kefauver, hearings which brought us the laws under which the federal government to this day prosecutes those who produce entertainment intended to be enjoyed by consenting adults, in the […]
Little should have been locked up a long time ago. His cruelty is so notorious in the porn world that for years he’s had to scour Eastern Europe for girls who never heard of Max Hardcore. From lukeford.com:
In 1992, Little sent performer Pamela Dee to the emergency room at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank “after she suffered vaginal hemorrhaging during a taping,” writes Nick Ravo in the 2/98 ICON magazine. Dee, a writer in Reno, Nevada told Ravo that Paul came up behind her and, without warning, rammed his fist into her vagina. “I never heard of anything like that done to anyone before. I felt ripped open. He also said he would pay my medical bills, but he never did. He could kill someone – he should be behind bars. But no one in the industry criticizes him because he makes a lot of money. He really screwed me up.”
why did she not press charges? why was this not brought up in the trial against him? why is there no reliable source confirming this incident?
could not find anything at lukeford.com
The jury that convicted max was instructed by the judge to enforce the law. Keep in mind that this means it was an unconstitutional jury. The process of judicial instruction of juries was illegal until the year 1895 (the year of the Supreme Court precedent “Sparf and Hansen V. the USA”) – prior to that year, juries were instructed that they had a right to vote their consciences, even if their consciences disagreed with the law.
The proof of the terrible injustice that judicial instruction (of uninformed, gullible Americans) creates is revealed by the fact that the jurors apologized to Max after convicting him. Would they have done so if he were not railroaded by an unconstitutional court?
Jury trials have been eroded in several other ways as well. Take for instance, “voir dire” (prosecutorial jury rigging), which began during civil war times, in an effort to force Northerners to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act. During jury questioning, if you indicate the capacity for critical thinking, or reveal that you know you have more power as a juror than the judge does, then you will be dismissed “for cause”.
Keep in mind that constitutional juries are not weeded for dissenters by the prosecution and judge.
For more information on jury rights, see http://www.fija.org
Lock him up…dude been taken advantage of “18” year olds for years., fellas behind bars don’t take kindly to child molestors or rapist…I think Mr. Little will fall into the category of the latter…tough days ahead, and I don’t feel sorry for him.
Please, I’m very liberally-minded, but this guy is disgusting. He obviously gets off on the idea of having sex with prepubescent girls and he’s producing movies for people who probably dream of doing that very thing, so to me, he’s an enabler. People watch his movies, get ideas in their sick heads, and that’s why we have ‘To Catch A Predator’.
I’m sure our Founding Fathers are appalled at how the court has just trampled on our beloved Constitution… and sodomized it, and pissed on it, and covered it in vomit.
So is he in or out of prison as of today?
did he appeal?
is he out on bond while he appeals?
what was the last date of a max hardcore video?
shelia
Max Paul Little Hardcore is a piece of garbage that finally got what was coming to him. I don’t mind if people fuck and suck on video for porn but Max’s style of porn only appeals to and inspires demented perverts who want to rape and molest pre-pubescent girls.
It’s amazing to see folks who think this guy belongs in jail because they think what he does is sick… you folks should move to Saudi Arabia or join the Tabliban… you’d love their thinking.
If he assaulted someone, rape them or used underage girls… well then prosecute him for that (you will need something called evidence… which it appears many don’t give a rat’s a** about).
Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of a free society…
People are happy with the government being totalitarian and using force as long as it’s in relation to their beliefs… however when it isn’t (say another government persecuting Christians) then suddenly they get all democratic and high minded.
Pathetic.
Clearly, porn is not art to the extent that it is not acting or pretending. If you’re pretending to suck dick you’re an artist, but if you’re really sucking dick then you’re a cocksucker.Film easily portrays both acting and activity and that’s how the line gets blurred.Sadly, for Paul Little,our Federal government loves to control lots of our activities. We’re not all that free, except that we’re free to try and get away with shit until it conflicts with someone else’s agenda. Like for instance,using illegal immigrant labor to make a success of ourselves. No, Paul stuck his own dick in the ringer because his success made him cocky. He forgot he’s not running the Show, the video yes, but not the Show.
Lets not loose sight of the fact that he was not put in jail for “raping”, or abusing women, he was put in jail because because 8 people decided what he did was “obscene”. Today it is Paul Little for Porn, what is tomorrow? Mel Gibson for murdering someone in a movie. I say this because if the judicial system is going to split hairs, what is to stop them from chopping off the whole head? Today it is porn, which is actually just a fictional depiction of a “legal” event (and yes I am going say “all” sex is legal. I don’t think we want anyone going into the bedrooms of America and determining what acts of sex are legal and which aren’t), where as someone murdering someone, or raping someone or committing an act of violence on someone in a movie is a depiction of an “illegal” act. If you are going to split hairs where are you going to draw the line? You don’t. Little by little those with the power who make and enforce our judicial system in the backrooms and beaches of the upper crust will continue to push and prod and poke and see where they can and can not get us as a society to conform to what they as a society want. And the sad thing is in recent years we have learned that a lot of these individuals who we as a society look up to and walk around as puppets for are actually the perpetrators of deviance that would even probably make Paul blush a little. I leave with this note. If it has been determined by the “majority” of society that porn is inappropriate how is it that it is one of the most profitable BILLION dollar industries in the world? Seems to me there must be a lot of “pure christian” closet porn enjoyers. :)
I have seen parts of some Max Hardcore movies, I logged on to his homepage and watched a few of the clips. I have watched a lot of porn in my life(like all guys have) and I must admit, I found the scenes on the max homepage to be TOTALLY FUCKED UP, who the fuck masturbates while watching some old guy with a cowboyhat choke some young girl dressed up and acting as a ten year old till she pukes, and then fills her asshole with piss and makes her suck the piss out of her own ass and then drinking it.
The thought that there are people around the world the world that pay money to buy this, and then sit at home and masturbate to it makes me feel downright worried about mankind in general.
And you can see that many of the girls he uses in his movies, are really not that pretty, some of them can hardly speak english, isnt it obvious that these girls are doing this as a last resort?
Max hasnt really broke any written laws, but what about the fact that he breaks moral laws?
Again, I still cant believe the stuff that goes on in his movies, it just doesnt get any sicker……
What really bugs me is that he was convicted on obscenity charges and not on rape charges, even though so many of his movies are rape plain-and-simple. The girls say shit like “I can’t breathe,” and “I’ve had enough” and he just keeps going.
He defends himself by saying he is “acting,” but he’s full of shit.
You can’t rape a character. He’s raping actors, and he knew he could get away with it, because girls in porn know there is no way they would win a rape case, because the defense could just say the words “porn star” and that would “prove” to the jury that she’s a slut, and sluts can’t be raped of course.
The fact that he was taken down with obscenity charges is pretty much a huge insult to Olivia and Pamela, IMO.
Fuck Max. He’s the reason people think negatively of porn.
Erland, I understand your point of view. But I must tell you that if you think hardcore’s movies are the worst out there then think again. There is plenty of content out there that makes max look rather tame.
http://www.experiment-x.com/
I use to workin the adult industry I have seen women come from all over the planet to come see Max he never made any female do anything she didn’t want to if they didn’t want to be reamed why do they see his videos and show up to get some. THINK ABOUT IT.MAX THE BEST IS YET TO COM SEE YOU SOON
That’s a pretty messed up statement. While undoubtedly there are women who went out of their way to do something extreme with Little on film, it’s safe to say that others have suffered. It isn’t acting when you’re really getting hurt. Sometimes people need others to look out for them because they can’t do it themselves, and that’s what this ruling is did. Yes these women got paid, but it’s no different than Indecline’s “Bumfights” series. No one is stepping on your freedoms; they are saying that peddling someone’s misery is unacceptable. I realize that’s what you like about the films and that’s fine; you’re within your rights to go make your own for private viewing.
I hope you snap out of your trance of perversion and get back to reality. Good luck on that.
paul little is a piece of shit…it’s simple…would you treat a girl the way he does? if you would, fuck you…if not, then why don’t you understand why he’s in prison. there are laws beyond those set by the United States…the laws of common decency, shared by all people. laws that don’t need to be written, don’t need to be explained. let him rot.