Be Careful What You View Online

According to the news headlines, it looks like it is now legal to view child porn in New York! But viewing and possessing child porn are two different things. Possession of child porn is still very much illegal in New York, California, and the rest of the country.

Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal in New York issued a decision in People v. Kent, holding that a defendant did not violate the law when images of child porn were found in his computer. As most people who use the internet are aware, a person can download an image, a song, a story, or you can simply look at it and move on.

In Kent, the court ruled that downloading child porn means you possess it, which violates the law. But if the images are merely on the computer memory cache, the user does not physically possess them or have "dominion and control" over them. Hence, it is legal.

Laws like California Penal Code section 311.11 also prohibit possession of child porn. However, unlike New York law, California law does not distinguish between images that are downloaded vs. images that are simply in the computer memory cache. Simply viewing the images while surfing online is considered illegal possession of child pornography. That means that under the California Penal Code, the same conduct that is now legal in New York will land the offender in jail and on Megan's Law in California!

If you or someone you know have been accused of a crime, arrested, or contacted by police, contact San Jose criminal defense attorney Maureen Baldwin at (408) 279-4450 to learn your options today!