« Ind. Courts - ISBA posts some clips of finalists' interviews | Main | Ind. Decisions - Supreme Court posts a number of disciplinary rulings today »

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Courts - Sexting in the news

The ILB has had a number of earlier entries on sexting. Two new stories:

First Story. "Pennsylvania Latest State to Consider Criminalizing Teen ‘Sexting’" is the heading of this WSJ Law Blog entry from yesterday.

The Indiana General Assembly this year referred the topic of sexting to an interim study committee. The bill was SEA 224-2010, which amended IC 2-5.5-2-5.

However, all of IC 2-5.5-2 was repealed this year by PL 100-2010, SEC. 7 (SEA 81-2010), which created the "Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee." The new law does not specifically address sexting.

However, and this will ring a bell with those of you who are aware of the noncode laws issue, I just took a look at NONCODE SECTION 8 of SEA 81. It provides:

(a) In the 2010 interim, the criminal law and sentencing policy study committee, as established by IC 2-5.5-5, as added by this act, shall study and make recommendations regarding:
(1) whether individuals on parole should be eligible to receive credit time to potentially shorten their period of parole; and
(2) the sending of sexually suggestive or sexually explicit material over the Internet or by use of a cellular telephone or similar device by minors, including whether school corporations should adopt policies regarding this topic.
(b) This SECTION expires January 1, 2011.
So this is a temporary provision and is not in the Code, it is only accessible to those who know to look for it. Ironically, however, the Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee itself is a temporary study committee, but is in the Indiana Code under IC 2: "ARTICLE 5.5. TEMPORARY LEGISLATIVE STUDY COMMITTEES."

The Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee webpage lists August 25, 2010 as its first meeting; "sexting issues" are on the agenda.

Second Story. This is a story from the New York Law Journal which "Highlights Inconsistency Between N.Y. Statutory Rape Laws, Federal Child Porn Laws." It begins:

A federal appeals panel has thrown out a child pornography conviction that was based on explicit photographs texted by a 17-year-old to her field-hockey coach.

The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals held there was no evidence that defendant Todd Broxmeyer asked 17-year-old "A.W." to take the pictures, and therefore no evidence that he "produced" them as defined by the federal child pornography statutes.

"The facts of this case require us to belabor the obvious: Broxmeyer could only persuade, induce, or entice A.W. to take [the photos] if his persuasion, inducement, or enticement came before she took them," Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs wrote for the majority in yesterday's decision, United States v. Broxmeyer, 09-1457-cr. "The government adduced no evidence on this point. As to [the sequence of events], the government fudged."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 4, 2010 02:35 PM
Posted to Courts in general