What a lower court can do, an appeals court can undo. Last Wednesday, January 27, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on the constitutionality of the Child Pornography Protection Act (CPPA) of 1996. CPPA's intention is to target those who would use computer technology to alter innocent images of children into pictures of children engaged in explicit sexual acts. The law makes possession of such pictures illegal. And it doesn't matter if the picture is of a real child or if it's an altered image, it's illegal just the same.
The appeals court ruling resulted in overturning U.S. District Judge Gene Carter's ruling, in the case against David Hilton of Maine last March 30, finding the law vague and adding it could potentially effect lawful adult pornography. In the decision reversing Carter's ruling, the federal appeals court stated that CPPA is clear enough that consumers can understand which type of pornography is illegal under this law.
According to U.S. Attorney Jay McCloskey, this was the first federal appeals court ruling on the law. Due to the ruling, McCloskey announced that his office would bring charges against Hilton. Hilton has continued to collect pornographic pictures of children, even after he had been told it was illegal to do so. Hilton insists he is innocent and will fight the charges against him.
"We term it a landmark decision that brings our federal child pornography laws into the computer age. . . That's what Congress was trying to do, and this opinion finds it constitutional," explained Mark Terison, federal prosecutor.
