US v. Williams concerns the constitutionality of the PROTECT Act, yet another child pornography law which potentially runs afoul of the First Amendment. The Court granted cert to hear the case in March 2007 and heard arguments in the case. Doug Berman wonders if Williams will be a sleeper case for this term:
But there are a number of other cases still stewing at One First Street that could end up being very consequential: there is the porn case Williams, which could cover some notable First Amendment ground; I am thinking the ACCA case Rodriquez might include a little Sixth Amendment talk about criminal history; and the Irizarry case might say something very consequential about the departure/variance story after Booker.
What SCOTUS rulings are you eagerly awaiting, dear readers? Does anyone predict that some sleeper case will end up being a bigger story than some of the more anticipated cases?
Williams certainly could have substantial effects if the Court upholds the PROTECT Act. Such a ruling would finally give Congress guidance on how to construct an obscenity or child pornography statute. However, if the Court strikes down the Act, then the decision will join several other opinions where Congress has failed to write a constitutional law regulating child pornography. And with that outcome, I doubt Williams will have any long term effects.
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