Porn biz lawyer on Extreme Associates prosecution fallout
Industry lawyer Lawrence Walters argues that everyone in the porn business should be worried about the federal obscenity prosecution of Extreme Associates. "If history is to be any guide as to what to expect in the future, it is likely that the feds will start prosecuting extreme, fringe, fetish material, and slowly work their way towards more acceptable forms of alternative erotica, like BDSM, interracial, facial, or even Gay material. The nation's Obscenity Czar, Andrew Osterbaan, recently pointed out that even producers of 'mainstream' erotica are not immune. . . . The feds often pick specific issues and venues in the attempt to establish precedent in their favor. The Extreme Associates prosecution may be one of those cases. As noted earlier, the government could be starting with the fringe material and working its way to mainstream erotica. According to one Justice Department official, 'There is no particular behavior that is off the table.' Along the way, this approach could be calculated to establish precedent favorable to the government to assist in prosecution of the more mainstream material."
