Criminal Law

R. v. Langer

In December 1993, police confiscated 40 paintings and drawings by artist Eli Langer from a Toronto gallery. Langer and the director of the gallery were charged under the obscenity and child pornography provisions of the Criminal Code. Langer's drawings and paintings depicted children in sexually provocative poses. Eventually the charges against Langer and the gallery director were dropped, but the Crown sought the forfeiture of the paintings so they could be destroyed as child pornography. In effect, the artwork itself was on trial.

Langer defended the forfeiture application by challenging the constitutionality of the child pornography provisions of the Criminal Code and by arguing that the paintings had artistic merit. The judge upheld the child pornography provisions of the Code, finding that. although they violated the Charter's guarantee of freedom of expression, they were a reasonable limit under section 1 of the Charter. However, he also held that the paintings and drawings were not child pornography since they had artistic merit and did not pose any harm to children. He therefore ordered the paintings returned to Langer.

Langer and his paintings were represented by Frank Addario.