Supreme Court Upholds Child Porn Law
The Supreme Court today ruled that leading someone to believe you have child pornography to sell or trade regardless of whether or not you really do is a punishable crime.
Michael Williams signed onto a chat room in Florida and offered to “swap” sexually explicit pictures of his daughter for someone elses. He was tracked by a Secret Service agent and eventually charged with pandering and possession of child pornography. The pandering charge was later overturned by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals who held the 2003 federal child porn statute was “overbroad and impermissibly vague.”
In writing for the Court, Justice Antonin Scalia said, “Offers to provide or requests to obtain child pornography are categorically excluded from the First Amendment.”
Critics have argued that the decision could inhibit free speech rights.
 The decision was 7-2. The case is United States v. Williams.
Source: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/06-694.pdf
