Refining Child Pornography Law: Crime, Language, and Social Consequences

by Carissa Byrne Hessick

Overview

The legal definition of child pornography is, at best, unclear. In part because of this ambiguity and in part because of the nature of the crime itself, the prosecution and sentencing of perpetrators, the protection of and restitution for victims, and the means for preventing repeat offenses are deeply controversial. In Refining Child Pornography Law, experts in law, sociology, and social work examine child pornography law and its consequences in an effort to clarify the questions and begin to formulate answers. Focusing on the roles of language and crime definition, the contributors discuss the increasing visibility child pornography plays in the national conversation about child safety, and present a range of views regarding the punishment of those who produce, distribute, and possess materials that may be considered child pornography.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780472900640
Publisher:	University of Michigan Press
Publication date:	05/10/2016
Series:	Law, Meaning, And Violence
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	308
File size:	493 KB

About the Author

Carissa Byrne Hessick is the Anne Shea Ransdell and William Garland "Buck" Ransdell, Jr. Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Table of Contents

Contents Introduction - Carissa Byrne Hessick A. Constitutional Issues 1 | The Context and Content of New York v. Ferber - James Weinstein 2 | Setting Definitional Limits for the Child Pornography Exception - Carissa Byrne Hessick B. Consequences of the Legal Definition 3 | The “Dost Test” in Child Pornography Law: “Trial by Rorschach Test” - Amy Adler 4 | The Language of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation - Mary Graw Leary A. The Special Case of Possession 5 | Questioning the Modern Criminal Justice Focus on Child Pornography Possession - Carissa Byrne Hessick 6 | The Dignitary Harm of Child Pornography—From Producers to Possessors - Audrey Rogers 7 | Not Just “Kiddie Porn”: The Significant Harms from Child Pornography Possession - Paul G. Cassell, James R. Marsh, and Jeremy M. Christiansen B. Child Pornography Definitions at Work 8 | Challenges in Investigations and Prosecutions of Child Pornography Crimes - Wendy Walsh, Melissa Wells, and Janis Wolak 9 | A Critical Evaluation of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Child Pornography Offenses - Troy Stabenow 10 | Political and Empirical Controversies Threaten the Federal Child Pornography Guidelines - Melissa Hamilton Contributors Index

Editorial Reviews

During the early days of the so-called ‘war on drugs,’ possession of marijuana could sometimes lead to a decades-long criminal sentence. In time, the need for reconsideration, and proportionality in sentencing, became apparent. The contemporary sentencing approach to child pornography offenses, including possession, requires an analogous re-examination. This text does an outstanding job of addressing the rationale for sentencing in child pornography cases, and in suggesting the need for potential change, in a thorough, scholarly, and thought-provoking manner.”
—Fred S. Berlin, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

From the Publisher