Text This: Words Alone Can Violate Federal Obscenity Laws

With so much attention focused on the Capitol Hill scandal involving inappropriate text messages sent to interns, commentator Howard J. Bashman notes that a recent appellate decision confirms that federal obscenity prosecutions can be brought based on words that are unaccompanied by obscene visual images. While technology has not reached the point where a person can be prosecuted merely for thinking bad thoughts, there are exceptions to First Amendment protections for the expression of thoughts in language.

This article requires premium access

This article requires premium access to Law.com. Please sign in or subscribe to read the full text.