This article relates really well to what we were talking about last class in regards to obscenity and the First Amendment. The article talks about a Virginia man, named Dwight Whorely, who under court findings violated criminal statues regulating obscenity. Whorely, who the article also states is an apparent pedophile, was in violation for writing out his sexual fantasies involving children, and e-mailing them to like-minded internet friends and being in possession of obscene Japanese manga. The latter charge is in violation of the recently-enacted Protect Act, which outlaws obscene cartoons depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The article goes on to explain that the case has gained much attention from the Supreme Court, particularly Judge Roger Gregory. He is looking to take up the case and reverse the outcomes, saying that this case is "convicting a man for the victimless crime of privately communicating his personal fantasies to other consenting adults." He goes on to state that the Supreme Court ruling that made it is illegal for Americans to traffic obscene materials that they possess through interstate commerce, which today includes the internet, has not kept up with technology and should be changed. I am very surprised that a Supreme Court judge would give this case a second look and would want to try to change the outcome. I understand that because of today's vast and growing technologies there are many factors that play into these rulings but when it revolves around any type of child pornography it shouldn't matter if the e-mails were consensual or not.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/06/email-obscenity/#more-6339
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You're right Liz, this ties in with our class discussion so perfectly. Interesting stuff. Although pedophiles make me totally queasy, I have to say that I agree with Judge Gregory, at least regarding the email. If writing a description of child-adult sex--whether it's someone's real life fantasy or not--is obscene, then why isn't Nabokov's classic novel Lolita obscene? Why aren't the independent films that I've seen with pedophile characters who speak graphically about their desires obscene? Why isn't one of those true crime shows in which a pedophile is interviewed and talks about his demented fantasies in detail obscene? In my opinion, even though that guy Whorely (nice name, LOL) is a scumbag, the line between his email and those things I just mentioned is pretty thin. Since Gregory isn't a Supreme Court Justice but is a judge serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit, I have no idea how likely that his dissent will be to influence the Supreme Court.
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