US v. Poulin, 10-1126

Conviction for the production of child pornography 

US v. Poulin, 10-1126, concerned a challenge to a conviction of defendant for the production of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 2251(a).  In affirming, the court held that defendant's claim that section 2251(a) is unconstitutional as applied to him because his conduct did not have a substantial effect on interstate commerce as, defendant's conduct falls within the sphere of activity that Congress legitimately regulates.  The court also held that defendant's claim that the government failed to prove that he "produced" sexually explicit images of a minor using materials that traveled in interstate commerce, is without merit.


As the court wrote: "Morales controls the outcome here.  Poulin's conduct, the videotaping of sexually explicit images of N.R. and G.J. as minors, is part of a class of activities, the production of child pornography, that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce.  They purely personal nature of his conduct is irrelevant for purposes of section 2251(a)'s constitutionality."

Related Link:

• Read the First Circuit's Full Decision in US v. Poulin, 10-1126