Remarkable group of four original court documents from the 1970 Dade County trial of Doors frontman Jim Morrison, who was arrested following a concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami, Florida, on March 1, 1969. Four days later an arrest warrant was issued, charging Morrison with a felony (Lewd and Lascivious Behavior In Public) and three misdemeanors (Indecent Exposure, Open Profanity, and Public Drunkenness). On April 4th, Morrison turned himself into the FBI; he entered a plea of ‘not guilty" in Miami on November 9th, with the trial not beginning until the following August. On September 20, 1970, a jury found him guilty on the misdemeanor charges of indecent exposure and profanity. He was released on bond the same day, sentenced on October 30th, and after filing an appeal was released, only to die eight months later before the matter was resolved.
The legal documents are as follows:
A “Defendant’s Requested Charge No. 38, Count III—Supplemental Charge,” one page, 8.5 x 14, stamp-dated September 19, 1970, which contains Morrison’s obscene rant and summarizes that “the state must prove each and every word in each phrase, and each and every one of the phrases.” The Morrison rant, in all its glory: “You are all a bunch of fucking idiots, your faces are being pressed into the shit of the world, take your fucking friend and love him, do you want to see my cock?” The defense’s attempt to obscure the charges and effectively have it dismissed was promptly refused by Judge Murray Goodman, who checks the “Denied” box and signs with his initials.
A partial “Appearance Bond” document between the State of Florida and James Douglas Morrison, one page, 8.5 x 7, stamp-dated September 21, 1970, which relates to the bond company, South American Fire Insurance Company, a payment of $10,000, and a guarantee of appearance by Morrison; the lower portion has been trimmed.
A criminal witness subpoena, one page, 8.5 x 14, stamp-dated August 4, 1970, issued to the 79th Street Art Theater in Miami, a known purveyor of pornographic films, requesting that a representative appear in court and “to bring with you: motion picture films ‘Gutter Trash,’ ‘The Wildest,’ and ‘Girlie Frolics,’” along with other books and records of showings and attendance for the referenced films. This request by the defense was an attempt to prove that Morrison's alleged actions, in comparison to community standards, were not extreme or indecent; this was the defense team's attempt to establish such standards. The reverse of the document notes that the theater representative refused to sign the subpoena.
A second criminal witness subpoena, one page, 8.5 x 14, stamp-dated August 4, 1970, issued to the Mini Art Cinema on Miami Beach, another adult movie theater, requesting that a representative appear in court and “to bring with you: motion picture film ‘Tropic of Cancer,’" along with other books and records of showings and attendance for the referenced film. Likewise, the reverse of the document notes that the theater representative refused to sign the subpoena. In overall fine condition.
An intoxicated Morrison walked on stage at the Dinner Key Auditorium with a theatrical strategy in mind. After attending a performance of Julian Beck's Living Theatre at USC, Morrison was resolved to try to interact with the audience with his own unique method. He arrived hours late, spoke incoherently into the microphone, cursed the audience and, after getting drenched with champagne, he doffed his shirt and taunted the crowd about removing his pants. The episode and its subsequent court proceedings drained Morrison to the point where he tried to quit the Doors and retire from his rock star lifestyle. Eight months after his sentencing, Morrison was found dead of an apparent heroin overdose in an apartment in Le Marais, Paris. Original court documents related to this, Morrison’s most controversial episode, are highly rare and sought-after.
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