Craft & Sheppard's Supreme Court Review
Child Pornography
Six years ago, in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, the Court struck a federal anti-child pornography statute criminalizing possessing pornographic “virtual images” of children, not just actual children. Congress passed another law that prohibited pandering or soliciting “child pornography,” 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(3). In U.S. v. Williams, the Court distinguished Ashcroft and ruled the new federal statute was not overbroad or void for vagueness. The new law targeted “pandering” or “soliciting” child porn, a distinction the Court deemed significant.
