ABSTRACT
Binding, bright line rules in the U.S. criminal justice system are the result of centuries of cases, codes, and legal debate. Generally, First Amendment rights are interpreted in case law and statutory schemes to protect compelling and important state interests while limiting infringements on speech as much as possible. Definitions of pornography are virtually irrelevant to the criminal justice system because pornography is protected speech. However, protection of pornography is not limitless. Protections have often been defined by prosecution of obscenity, which is unprotected speech. Legality of pornography may be determined on a case-by-case basis, or depictions may be classified per se as unprotected speech, that is, sadomasochism and excretory pornography.
