Under the AP SLAP framework for unprotected speech, which elements are required to classify material as obscene?

• A. Prurient interest, portrayal of sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and lack of serious value to the average person
• B. Prurient interest, depiction of violence, and lack of any educational merit
• C. Lack of prurient interest, depiction of sexual conduct in a non-patently-offensive way, and high social value
• D. Patently offensive standards, community consensus, and age-based screening

Answer: (A)

Obscenity under this framework is judged by three elements: prurient interest in sexual conduct; a patently offensive depiction or description of sexual conduct; and lack of serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value to the average person. Prurient interest means the material would arouse sexual curiosity; patently offensive means the depiction is explicit enough to offend community standards; and lack of serious value means, taken as a whole, it has no redeeming value in those domains. All three conditions must be satisfied for material to be labeled obscene. The option that lists these three elements exactly matches this standard.