New York v. Ferber - Significance, Speech Unworthy Of Protecting, A New Speech Category, Impact, Further Readings

New York v. Ferber - Further Readings

New York v. Ferber - Significance

The ruling created a new category of speech, child pornography, not protected by the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause. The state successfully argued its interest that protecting the physical and psychological well-being of children far outweighed any social value of materials containing sexually explicit scenes involving juveniles. The addition of a new category of speech excluded from constit…

New York v. Ferber - Speech Unworthy Of Protecting

In a series of decisions the Supreme Court identified "fighting words," group libel, and obscenity as types of speech that lack any social benefit and deserve automatic exclusion from constitutional protection. In the 1942 Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire case, the Court ruled that fighting words are "those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace.…

New York v. Ferber - A New Speech Category

In Ferber, the Court ruled for the first time on a law restricting depictions of sexual activity involving children. Justice White, writing for the unanimous Court, found the Miller test irrelevant when considering child pornography. White stated "it is evident . . . that a State's interest in safeguarding the physical and psychological well-being of a minor is compelling." In stating why child po…

New York v. Ferber - Impact

Though Court decisions on obscenity often seemed vague and contradictory, the Court made a clear statement on child pornography. Free from fears of violating the First Amendment by placing tough restrictions on child pornography, Congress passed the Child Protection Act of 1984 shortly after the decision. Where Ferber focused primarily on distribution of child pornography, the issue of personal po…