Editing Dead Kennedys (section)

=== ''Frankenchrist'' and obscenity trial (1985–1986) ===
The release of the album ''[[Frankenchrist]]'' in 1985 showed the band had grown in musical proficiency and lyrical maturity. While there were still a number of loud/fast songs, much of the music featured an eclectic mix of instruments including trumpets and synthesizers. Around this time [[Klaus Flouride]] released the similarly experimental solo EP ''[[Cha Cha Cha With Mr. Flouride]]''. Lyrically, the band continued their trademark social commentary, with songs such as "MTV Get Off The Air" and "Jock-O-Rama (Invasion of the Beef Patrol)" poking fun at mainstream America.

However, the controversy that erupted over [[H. R. Giger|H.R. Giger]]'s ''[[Penis Landscape]]'', included as an insert with the album, dwarfed the notoriety of its music. The artwork caused a furor with the newly formed [[Parents Music Resource Center]] (PMRC). In December 1985 a teenage girl purchased the album at the [[Wherehouse Entertainment|Wherehouse Records]] store in [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]].<ref name=WishniaNation>Wishnia, Steven. "Of Punk and Pornography: Rockin' With the First Amendment". ''The Nation''. October 24, 1987.</ref> The girl's mother wrote letters of complaint to the [[California Attorney General]] and to Los Angeles [[prosecutors]].<ref name=WishniaNation /> In June 1986, members of the band, along with other parties involved in the distribution of ''Frankenchrist'', were charged criminally with distribution of harmful matter to minors. The store where the teen actually purchased the album was never named in the lawsuit.<ref name=WishniaNation /> The criminal charges focused on an illustration by [[H.R. Giger]], titled "Work 219: Landscape XX" (also known as ''[[Penis Landscape]]''). Included as a poster with the album, ''Penis Landscape'' depicts nine copulating penises and vaginas.<ref>Deflem, Mathieu. 2020. [https://deflem.blogspot.com/2019/07/music-censorship-labeling.html "Popular Culture and Social Control: The Moral Panic on Music Labeling."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803015238/https://deflem.blogspot.com/2019/07/music-censorship-labeling.html |date=August 3, 2019 }} ''American Journal of Criminal Justice'' 45(1):2-24 (First published online July 24, 2019).</ref>

Members of the band and others in the chain of distribution were charged with violating the California Penal Code<ref name="penalcode">[http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html California Penal Code] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714132609/http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html |date=July 14, 2009 }} at leginfo.ca.gov</ref> on a [[misdemeanor]] charge carrying a maximum penalty of up to a year in county jail and a base fine of up to $2,000. Biafra says that during this time government agents invaded and searched his home. The prosecution tried to present the poster to the jury in isolation for consideration as obscene material, but Judge Susan Isacoff ruled that the poster must be considered along with the music and lyrics.<ref>[http://www.metnews.com/articles/2004/reti052804.htm "Judge Isacoff, Commissioner Duffey Slate July Retirements"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714182105/http://www.metnews.com/articles/2004/reti052804.htm |date=July 14, 2007 }} ''Metropolitan News-Enterprise''. May 28, 2004</ref> The charges against three of the original defendants, Ruth Schwartz (owner of [[Mordam Records]]), Steve Boudreau (a distributor involved in supplying ''Frankenchrist'' to the Los Angeles Wherehouse store), and Salvatore Alberti (owner of the factory where the record was pressed), were dismissed for lack of evidence.<ref name=WishniaNation />

In August 1987, the case went to the jury with two remaining defendants: Jello Biafra and Michael Bonanno (former Alternative Tentacles label manager).<ref name=WishniaNation /> However, the criminal trial ended with a hung jury, split 7 to 5 in favor of acquittal. [[District Attorney]]s Michael Guarino and Ira Riener made a motion for a retrial which was denied by Judge Isacoff, [[Superior Court]] Judge for the County of Los Angeles.<ref>Drozdowski, Ted. [https://web.archive.org/web/20010423020902/http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Congress/2503/interview06.html "Jello Biafra cuts to the politics of pop"]</ref> The album, however, was banned from many record stores nationwide.

After the break up of the band, Jello Biafra brought up the court case on ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]''. Biafra was on the show with [[Tipper Gore]] as part of a panel discussion on the issues of "controversial music lyrics" and censorship.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=[[YouTube]]|title=Jello Biafra The Oprah Winfrey Show|date=May 13, 2017|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNoEWol1wbg|access-date=August 19, 2018|archive-date=August 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820195241/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNoEWol1wbg&gl=US&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref>