Your tax dollars at work

The federal government has filed a obscenity charges against a porn producer yesterday. My initial reaction: The feds still prosecute obscenity? Who knew?

Clearly other lawyers do, which is why they manage to build lucrative practices around such cases. I actually tell my nonprofit classes a goofy story about one such lawyer I've met--it involves a skin mag charity and a newlywed me--but First Amendment attorney Greg Piccionelli offers far more serious insight into what the latest indictment means for federal law.

In particular, he addresses the rather surprising decision to include child porn charges in what is clearly just an adult pornography case. The strategy that Piccionelli identifies is one that, were it to work, could have far-reaching implications for anyone who posts adult material on the web. If you want to get a sense of how the rule of law actually works in practice, check out his analysis.