@izzythepush,
Sorry I been very clear that my problems with the US law is how harsh it happen to be and that there is no levels so a picture of a 17 and 364 days old female call for the same minimum punishment as a picture of a infant being rape of five years.
The fact that children can be charge under this and states laws is also a concern of mine.
In fact for the most part the changes I wish to see would bring our laws into line with the UK laws.
If you had no problem with the UK law that you are living under I can not see how you can have any repeat any problem with my positions.
Oh here is part of the reasons I had concerns that young people can be charge for taking pictures of themselves.
http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2009/03/the-many-fascintating-legal-and-social-issues-swirling-around-sexting.html
This interesting complaint confirmed my sense that there are an array of fascinating legal and social issues surrounding the phenomenon of "sexting." And the Newark Star-Ledger had this effective article, headlined "A debate swirls over teens' lurid pictures: Should self-portraits draw harsh penalties?," highlighting that these issues are arising in many places in many different ways:
In Indiana, a middle-school boy faces obscenity charges for transmitting naked photos of himself to female classmates. And last week in Passaic County, authorities accused a 14-year-old Clifton girl of distributing child pornography, saying she posted nude portraits of herself on MySpace.
In a growing number of states, law enforcement agencies are cracking down on teens who use cell phones and social networking sites to share lurid photographs. Prosecutors say they are trying to stamp out a dangerous trend. But their use of stringent child-pornography and sex-offender laws has ignited a debate. "Do we really want to tag this 14-year-old girl as a sex offender for the next 30 years?" asked Bill Albert, spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. "Communities nationwide are scratching their heads about what role, if any, law enforcement should play in these cases."
A key hurdle for prosecutors is that technology has outpaced the legal system. Most states don't have laws specifically addressing teens who transmit explicit images, a practice sometimes referred to as "sexting."
The only New Jersey laws applicable to the Clifton case are those designed for sexual predators and child pornography traffickers, said Parry Aftab, executive director of the nonprofit group WiredSafety.org. Authorities suspect the 14-year-old, arrested Tuesday, took and posted nearly 30 explicit images of herself for her boyfriend to see. If true, it makes for an unusual criminal case: The victim is also the perpetrator.
Any new or aspiring law professor might do well to start a sexting law and policy blog. The combination of issues here — involving juvenile sexuality and criminality, severe child porn laws, new technologies, legal uncertainty and prosecutorial discretion, and constitutional law — all but ensures that sexting topics will draw lots of legal and social attention for quite some time. Anyone who tracks major sexting cases and debates — and thus becomes an academic expert on these matters — likely will have their phone constantly ringing and an always full e-mail in-box.
March 30, 2009 at 09:47 AM | Permalink