NCJ Number
103166
Journal
Seton Hall Legislative Journal Volume: 9 Dated: (1985) Pages: 327-353
Date Published
1985
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews the background and content of the Federal 1984 Child Protection Act (CPA) and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York v. Ferber (1982), both of which proscribe child pornography as the sexual abuse of the child participants independent of the obscenity standards applied to adult pornography.
Abstract
Tennessee and New York were among the first States to distinguish child pornography from adult pornography as a form of child abuse without reference to the obscenity standards applied to adult pornography. New York and Tennessee child pornography laws focus on the harm done to the children involved in the pornography rather than on possible harms to society resulting from the pornography's distribution. In New York v. Ferber, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of such laws by ruling that the State's interest in protecting children outweighs any potential restrictions on the right to free expression. The CPA reflects the 'Ferber' decision in authorizing the prosecution of child pornographers without regard to the legal obscenity of the sexual depiction of children under 18 years old. The law provides for costly fines and civil and criminal forfeitures for persons involved in the production and distribution of child pornography, whether or not it is for profitmaking. 139 footnotes.