9th Circuit upholds child porn conviction against warrant, “marital communications” challenges
The 9th Circuit upheld Jerry Levis Banks’ conviction for “the possession, production, transportation, and receipt of images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.” At issue on appeal was (1) the district court’s denial of Banks’ motion to suppress evidence seized pursuant to a warrant issued based on testimony from “a Canadian pedophile” with whom Banks had traded pornography; (2) the admission of evidence from Banks’ wife; and (3) the denial of Banks’ motion to suppress the court’s applications of the definitions of “masturbation” and “lascivious.”
1990-1997: National Law Center Summaries of “SOB Land Use” Studies
Crime Impact Studies by Municipal and State Governments on Harmful Secondary Effects of Sexually Oriented Businesses.
6th Circuit upholds Child Protection Act’s age reporting requirement
The Sixth Circuit sitting en banc has upheld § 2257 of the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1988.
The politics of porn
Inside Catholic: “From the time of our Founders until not too long ago, America was a place that not only forbade hardcore pornography but, through its laws and social mores, actively encouraged lives of virtue.”
David Ogden and the New Pornographers
Public Discourse: “Pornography should not be regarded as immune from regulation because it is “free speech.” A mounting body of evidence shows that the social costs of pornography can extend to all areas of society, from creating a less productive and more harassing workplace to weakening marriages.”
2009: A Critical Year for Protecting Children
Public Discourse: “Reported instances of suspected online child sexual exploitation continue every year, surpassing 500,000 such events in 2007. Child pornography is a multi-billion-dollar industry, appearing in many media, including on computers and cellular phones, items to which a significant portion of youth have access.”
6th Circuit validates “secondary effects” evidence, upholds Knox County SOB ordinance
A Sixth Circuit panel upheld Knox County’s comprehensive (licensing, midnight closure, no alcohol, no nudity, 6-ft, no-touch, etc.) sexually oriented business (SOB) ordinance against a four-part challenge.
Roger Scruton: Pornography and the Courts
Public Discourse: “The idea that pornography is “speech,” within the meaning of the first amendment, and thereby protected by the Constitution, is so absurd that it is hard for an outsider to see how American judges have been persuaded to accept it again and again.”
Taking a New Look at Pornography
Public Discourse: “The question of pornography is precisely such an issue ripe for reevaluation. Thoughtful scholars from a variety of disciplines are engaged in the task of reviewing its purported benefits and dangers and recalibrating the implications for sound public policy once its social costs are weighed.”
