268
Rehnquist, C. J., dissenting
" 'accord substantial deference to the predictive judgments of Congress' " in First Amendment cases).
I also agree with Justice O'Connor that serious First Amendment concerns would arise were the Government ever to prosecute someone for simple distribution or possession of a film with literary or artistic value, such as Traffic or American Beauty. Ante, at 262-263 (opinion concurring in judgment in part and dissenting in part). I write separately, however, because the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 (CPPA), 18 U. S. C. § 2251 et seq., need not be construed to reach such materials.
We normally do not strike down a statute on First Amendment grounds "when a limiting construction has been or could be placed on the challenged statute." Broadrick v. Oklahoma, 413 U. S. 601, 613 (1973). See, e. g., New York v. Ferber, 458 U. S. 747, 769 (1982) (appreciating "the wide-reaching effects of striking down a statute on its face"); Parker v. Levy, 417 U. S. 733, 760 (1974) ("This Court has . . . repeatedly expressed its reluctance to strike down a statute on its face where there were a substantial number of situations to which it might be validly applied"). This case should be treated no differently.
Other than computer-generated images that are virtually indistinguishable from real children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, the CPPA can be limited so as not to reach any material that was not already unprotected before the CPPA. The CPPA's definition of "sexually explicit conduct" is quite explicit in this regard. It makes clear that the statute only reaches "visual depictions" of:
"[A]ctual or simulated . . . sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex; . . . bestiality; . . . masturbation; . . . sadistic or masochistic abuse; or . . . lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person." 18 U. S. C. § 2256(2).
Page: Index Previous 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007