The Supreme Court agreed today to decide the constitutionality of a federal child pornography law, reports the Associated Press. The issue arose in the case of Michael Williams, whose conviction in Florida for promoting child porn was reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. The appeals court said the pandering provision of the PROTECT Act of 2003 was overbroad and impermissibly vague. The court said the law could apply to an e-mail entitled “Good pics of kids in bed” sent by a grandparent, with innocent pictures attached of grandchildren in pajamas.
In asking the court to take the case, the Bush administration said the appeals court read the law’s language more broadly than is warranted. Congress made clear that “efforts to stimulate, feed or capitalize on a market for what purports to be child pornography deserve no sanctuary,” the U.S. Solicitor General’s office said.
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/26/AR2007032600478.html