Page 44 - AVN November 2017

LEGAL NEWS
2257
(Continued from page 42)
Wyer then suggested that the government actually had met its burden of
having a “compelling government interest” through the legislative history of
Congress cracking down on child pornographers, and also through some Supreme
Court decisions. However, one of the main ones she mentioned was U.S. v.
Alvarez, the so-called “Stolen Valor case,” which dealt with a person lying about
commendations he had received from the military—but Murray quickly noted that
the Supreme Court had in fact struck down the “Stolen Valor” statute which had
criminalized that conduct.
But under questioning by the judge, Wyer admitted that the government had
yet to prosecute a case where a member of the recognized adult entertainment
industry had been accused of using an underage performer in one of its videos—
but she maintained that the Supreme Court had not recognized the adult industry
as “monolithic,” and that therefore, anyone who made explicit content, even
involving children, could claim to be part of that industry.
Judge Baylson, however, later took a different view, and began that discussion
by noting that 2257 applies to any producer, as well as all “secondary producers,”
who don’t make the products they sell and rarely come in contact with the
performers who are in the content. He described that inclusiveness as “very
broad.”
Next came a discussion of the possibility that the underage performer problem
might be solved by the adult industry using some version of the recordkeeping
“opt-out” allowed by mainstream producers, who can simply file a letter with
the Attorney General saying that they keep tax and other personnel records on
the performers they use for simulated sex acts. Murray said that was a step in
the right direction, because everyone in the established adult industry always
checks the IDs of its performers and keeps copies of those IDs. But in response
to a question from the judge, Murray admitted that there are no written industry
rules requiring such ID checking and retention—but that there didn’t need to be
because everyone does it. Judge Baylson commented that if the industry did have
such written requirements, however, he felt that would be a factor in his decision
whether to strike down 2257. He also asked whether reducing the penalties for
non-compliance with 2257 would help resolve the issues in the case, and Murray
said it would help.
One troubling thought Judge Baylson stated on the record was his fear that
if 2257 were declared unconstitutional, adult producers, who often advertise
the youthfulness of their content using the word “teen,” might be moved, in
the law’s absence, to use actual underage performers and hope they would not
be discovered doing so. Murray responded by stating that none of the plaintiffs
(including all members of FSC) would use an underage performer because they
are “totally against” doing so, and that FSC even offered a reward to anyone
giving information leading to the conviction of anyone who did use an underage
performer. He also noted that the penalties for violating 2257 don’t hold a candle
to the penalties for creating child pornography.
And when the judge suggested that “youthful-looking” is popular in porn,
Murray corrected him to say that “youthful-looking adults” are popular.
It was at that point that Judge Baylson suggested yet again that the plaintiffs
and the government try to come up with an industry standard regarding minors
attempting to sneak into adult content, and wondered how the attorneys would
feel if he came up with such a standard himself? Wyer objected, again suggesting
that the adult industry wasn’t cohesive enough to be able to have such a standard.
As the hearing drew to a close, Judge Baylson asked if the parties could agree
that the operative definition for a “commercial producer” of adult content would
be one who sells or trades the material, and both sides agreed with that. The
judge then suggested that he might rule that 2257 did not apply to “commercial
producers,” which he believed would solve a lot of problems.
Murray agreed, and went on to note that that should also let out “secondary
producers,” since they had no role in creating the content, and that if the
government wanted to keep them included, the burden was on it to prove why
that was necessary—something he didn’t believe they could do. He reiterated that
he didn’t think producers would use underage performers even without 2257,
and noted that there had only been nine prosecutions involving 2257, and none of
them had been of a commercial producer.
Finally, Judge Baylson again asked Murray to go back to his clients and try to
come up with an industry standard regarding ID checking and retention, and gave
him three weeks to do so, at which time he would rule on the remand. However,
at Wyer’s request, he extended that to four weeks, which would also allow her
to consult with her superiors regarding what had taken place during today’s
argument, and whether they were willing to put on more evidence regarding
whether 2257 meets the standards for “strict scrutiny.”
In the end, Judge Baylson made it quite clear that unless the government
could meet its strict scrutiny burdens, he was inclined to rule 2257 to be
unconstitutional, unless the government and the plaintiffs could arrive at an
industry standard regarding ID checking/retention that would allow recognized
commercial producers to be let out of 2257’s requirements.
In short, the hearing appeared to pave the way for an adult industry victory over
2257, making the eight-year battle well worth the time and expense.
Evil Angel Recruits Magalie Rheault as Chief Commercial Officer
Industry veteran Magalie Rheault on October 2 assumed the post
Added Grayson, “We were presented over the summer with
of chief commercial officer at Evil Angel.
the news that Magalie was on the free agent market for the first
In this role, Rheault is charged with synchronizing all revenue-
time in decades, and it was a decision we didn’t have to think
generating parts of the company, including web, broadcast
very hard about. We’ve worked closely with Magalie for much of
and DVD. She’ll work with company founder John Stagliano
the past eight years as part of our partnership with Gamma, so
and Chief Financial Officer Adam Grayson to steer long-term
everyone is very well acquainted. She’s a tremendous addition to
strategy.
our team.”
Rheault previously spent 14 years at Evil Angel’s web partner,
“It’s really an honor for me to be joining the Evil Angel team,”
Gamma Entertainment, most recently as its vice president.
Rheault said. “It was an opportunity that I simply couldn’t pass
There, she gained vast expertise in web business, as well as
on. Having worked with them for over eight years, I know we
licensing and driving strategic partnerships.
have complementary skills that will be put toward growing an
Stagliano comments, “Magalie was the French Canadian
even stronger Evil Angel, as well as developing further their
interface between Evil Angel and Gamma. She was very
prime position in the market.”
insightful with marketing ideas and helped EvilAngel.com grow.”
Rheault can be reached at magalie@evilangel.com.
COURTROOM REPORT | By Mark Kernes
2018 AVN Show Room Block Rates Now Available at Hard Rock Hotel
The countdown to the 2018 AVN Show has started, and AVN Media
Network is urging those who want to attend the biggest adult
industry events of the year make their plans now.
Hotel rooms at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino—the host hotel for
the AVN Show—are now available online for the 2018 AVN Show
and AVN Awards. Discounted AVN Show Room Block Rates start at
$159 per night.
The AVN Show and Las Vegas has proven year after year to
be a winning combination, so why wait to book that room? The
discounted room block is limited, and rates only go up.
As in previous years, a fan block of rooms and an industry block of
rooms will be allocated within Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
For industry rooms, go to AWS.Passkey.com/go/AVN2018Industry.
For fan rooms, visit AWS.Passkey.com/go/AVN2018public.
The AVN Show comprises four shows in total:
Internext: January 20-23, 2018
AVN Adult Entertainment Expo: January 24-27, 2018
AVN Novelty Expo: January 24 - 26, 2018
AVN Awards: January 27, 2018
For information, email aeesales@avn.com or call (818) 718-5788.
44 | AVN.com | 11.17