New York v. Ferber
United States Supreme Court
458 U.S. 747 (1982)
Relevant factsFree
Ferber (defendant), who owned an adult bookstore in New York, sold an undercover officer two films depicting minor boys masturbating and was convicted under a New York statute criminalizing the knowing promotion of sexual performances by children under sixteen. An intermediate appellate court affirmed his conviction, but the New York Court of Appeals reversed on First Amendment grounds, and the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.
IssueFree
Whether a state may criminalize the distribution of material depicting children engaged in sexual conduct even when that material does not satisfy the constitutional test for legal obscenity.