United States v. X-Citement Video, Inc., 513 U. S. 64 (1994) was a lawsuit filed in the United States in Woodland Hills, California district court against X-Citement Video and its owner Rubin Gottesman. The charge was trafficking in child pornography. Gottesman was sentence to one year in jail and a $100,000 fine.

The defense challenged the constitutionality of certain sections of the federal laws against child pornography, claiming they were unconstitutionally vague (see below). On appeal the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed and reversed the district decision in 1992.The case was appealed again to the Supreme Court, who reversed the ruling of the Ninth Circuit on November 29, 1994, because the relevant sections could be interpreted in way that was constitutional.

Background

In 1986 federal authorities discovered that adult actress Traci Lords had made movies while underage. This incident formed the basis of several actions against people working the adult industry.

Rubin Gottesman owns X-Citement Video. In June 1986 he was visited by Los Angeles Police Officer Steven Takeshita and FBI Agent Nellie Magdaloyo. They pose as porn retailers. They want to buy videos from him. During the remainder of 1986 they make several more visits. Culminating in Gottesman sending Traci Lords video to Hawaii, early 1987. They also get Gottesman to acknowledge that he knew Lords was underage during the making of those movies.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling

The Ninth Circuit ruled that the sections in the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act of 1977 dealing with the interstate transportation of underage pornography is unconstitutional.

Part of the relevant provision is:

"(a) Any person who -
  (1) knowingly transports or ships in interstate or foreign commerce by any
      means including by computer or mails, any visual depiction, if -
   (A) the producing of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor
       engaging in sexually explicit conduct; and
   (B) such visual depiction is of such conduct;"

The problem is, that the word 'knowingly' in section (1) does, judging from the grammar does not extend to the conduct described in section (A).

The result would be that anybody trafficking in movies without knowing their content might be liable. This was found in violation of the First Amendment.

The production of child pornography was unaffected and remained prohibited.

Supreme Court

The decision was appealed to the United States Supreme Court. With a majority of 7 against 2 they ruled that the decision of the Ninth Circuit would be reversed.

They explain that if a rule can be interpreted in a way that is constitutional then that should be used instead of declaring the rule unconstitutional. In effect they made word 'knowingly' extend to the other clauses.

Justice Antonin Scalia filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Thomas joined. He acknowledges this rule, but only in a case where the new interpretation does not need an ungrammatical reading.

Gottesman was released June 27, 1997.

External links

• Opinion of the Supreme Court