Passage In November 1964, after a six-month trial,Lenny Bruce was found guilty of obscenity by the state of New York for language he had used in a stand-up comedy routine Sentenced to four months imprisonment, Bruce never served a day; he died while appealing his conviction. Bruce was officially pardoned by New York Governor George Pataki in 2003-the first posthumous pardon in New York history. Pataki claimed that the pardon was "a declaration of New York's commitment to upholding the First Amendment,"which guarantees freedom of speech. Question Governor Pataki implied that Lenny Bruce should not have used profane language been found guilty appealed his conviction violated the First Amendment