The CBLDF’s Charles Brownstein On The Steven Kutzner Sentencing

I was interested in the response of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in the sentencing of Steven Kutzner this week on charges to which he pleaded guilty involving obscene imagery. The e-mail I sent CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein:

Kutzner?

I'm particularly interested in where this might send the Fund in terms of fighting the laws that made this possible, and whether or not similar laws are already entrenched in other states or possible to one day be so entrenched. Because I have a copy of "Joe Blow." I suppose a secondary consideration is whether or not believe that Kutzner's legal strategy was harmful and if it sets a precedent for future accused people in similar situations.

Brownstein responded earlier today.

Like Handley before him, Kutzner's plead conviction doesn't set a binding legal precedent, but the concern that it sets a cultural precedent that invites more prosecution of its kind is increased.

Kutzner and Handley were both Federal prosecutions arising from the PROTECT Act, which was written in part to criminalize the possession of "obscene" depictions of minors, and has, in practice, morphed into an attempt to prohibit the possession of any sexual depiction that involves minors, even if no actual children are depicted and the image is entirely imaginary. These cases aren't really about laws being entrenched in specific localities, they're more about the enforcement of a really bad Federal law and a presumption of obscenity that isn't tried by a jury.

In terms of where this sends the Fund, well, it keeps us focused on keeping watch on developments in cases of this kind, increasing our education burden, and, hopefully, being the first call for the next case where a comics fan finds him or herself on the receiving end of a search warrant because they ordered some manga that law enforcement finds questionable.

In this specific case, it's hard to say what might have been done differently. The facts indicate that Kutzner may have downloaded actual child pornography, which he then wiped from him computer using special erasing software. While press accounts have focused on the cartoon images he possessed, it appears the actual concerns of law enforcement arose from sexual images involving actual children. Obviously, we don't condone or defend real child pornography, period.

One disturbing aspect of the prosecution, however, was the government's emphasis on punishing Kutzner for his sexual psychology, as reflected in the plea agreement. If Kutzner did in fact violate the law, he should be punished for what he did, not for what he was thinking. That is not the government's business, and it is a dangerous, slippery slope.

This is a trend that isn't going away, in the States or internationally. It's something we're prepared to address if we are called to defend a case involving comics. No one should go to jail for owning comics. Art is art, and needs to be defended as such, even if it does make us uncomfortable.

My thanks to Charles Brownstein for such a quick reply, and this site's continued best wishes in their work.
 
posted 10:30 am PST | Permalink
 

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