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Q: Two years ago, my daughter was speaking on the telephone, imperfectly clad.  Someone took a photo.  It got to the Web and then to every cell phone in school.  The District Attorney says that my daughter was posing provocatively and that this image meets the definition of child pornography.  He has threatened to prosecute her on felony child-pornography charges if she does not submit to the sheriff’s ‘re-education’ program – designed to teach a participant why his or her actions were wrong.

A: Assuming that the photo did not cross the line, the only reason to prosecute your daughter would be in retaliation for exercising her constitutional right not to participate in the program.  The D.A. would be seeking to compel your daughter to participate in a re-education program, through threat of a prosecution that lacks any basis.

Your child has a constitutional right to avoid the courses, and you have a constitutional right to direct her education – a Fourteenth Amendment substantive due-process right to be free from state interference with family relations.  Choices about marriage, family life and the upbringing of children are rights of basic importance in our society – rights sheltered by the Constitution against the State’s unwarranted usurpation, disregard or disrespect.

By: Scott Baron,
Attorney at Law Advertorial

The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel. This article shall not be construed as legal advice.

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