Parole officers did not violate the First Amendment when they enforced a ban on the possession of pornography by a paroled sex offender, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
“Although a series of strongly-worded opinions by this court and others suggest that the term ‘pornography’ is unconstitutionally vague,” Judge Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the court, an illustrated book found in the possession of parolee Christopher J. Farrell fell within “any reasonable definition of pornography” and the parole condition was not unreasonably vague as applied to Farrell’s conduct.
