Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition

Justice O’Connor, with whom The Chief Justice and Justice Scalia join as to Part II,

concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part.

The Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 (CPPA), 18 Ú. S. C. §2251 et seq., proscribes the “knowin[g]” reproduction, distribution, sale, reception, or possession of images that fall under the statute’s definition of child pornography, §2252A(a). Possession is punishable by up to 5 years in prison for a first offense, § 2252A(b), and all other transgressions are punishable by up to 15 years in prison for a first offense, § 2252A(a). The CPPA defines…