Who Pays the Damages for Child Pornography? Paroline v. United States

Criminal Law & Procedure Practice Group Teleforum

On April 23, 2014, the Supreme Court decided Paroline v. United States, a case involving the efforts of “Amy,” a victim of child pornography, to collect the full amount of damages owed to her. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that Amy could not collect the full $3.4 million in damages from one man convicted of possessing two images of her, because defendants should only be made liable for the consequences and gravity of their own conduct, not the conduct of others. University of Utah Professor Paul G. Cassell, who argued for Amy at the Supreme Court, will discuss the impact of the decision, as well as current Congressional efforts to ensure that victims of child pornography are not forced into a lifetime of litigation to extract damages from those involved in their abuse. He will be joined by John G. Malcolm, Chairman of the Federalist Society’s Criminal Law & Procedure Practice Group.

• Professor Paul G. Cassell, Ronald N. Boyce Presidential Endowed Chair in Criminal Law, The University of Utah College of Law
• John G. Malcolm, Director and Ed Gilbertson and Sherry Lindberg Gilbertson Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation, and Chairman of the Federalist Society's Criminal Law & Procedure Practice Group

On April 23, 2014, the Supreme Court decided Paroline v. United States, a case involving the efforts of “Amy,” a victim of child pornography, to collect the full amount of damages owed to her. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that Amy could not collect the full $3.4 million in damages from one man convicted of possessing two images of her, because defendants should only be made liable for the consequences and gravity of their own conduct, not the conduct of others. University of Utah Professor Paul G. Cassell, who argued for Amy at the Supreme Court, will discuss the impact of the decision, as well as current Congressional efforts to ensure that victims of child pornography are not forced into a lifetime of litigation to extract damages from those involved in their abuse. He will be joined by John G. Malcolm, Chairman of the Federalist Society’s Criminal Law & Procedure Practice Group.

• Professor Paul G. Cassell, Ronald N. Boyce Presidential Endowed Chair in Criminal Law, The University of Utah College of Law
• John G. Malcolm, Director and Ed Gilbertson and Sherry Lindberg Gilbertson Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation, and Chairman of the Federalist Society's Criminal Law & Procedure Practice Group

Call begins at 12:00 noon Eastern Time.

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