Law Commons^™

A Twenty-First-Century Olympic And Amateur Sports Act, Dionne L. Koller

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Recent scandals involving national governing bodies for sport and allegations of athlete abuse have captured media attention. The most recent, focusing on the actions of USA Gymnastics, prompted Congress to propose legislation to require better protections for Olympic Movement athletes. Signed into law on February 14, 2018, the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 designates the United States Center for SafeSport (SafeSport) as the independent organization charged with exercising jurisdiction over the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and sport national governing bodies to safeguard amateur athletes against all forms of abuse. Congress's instincts …

The Price Is (Not) Right: Mandatory Arbitration Of Claims Arising Out Of Sexual Violence Should Not Be The Price Of Earning A Living, Nicolette Sullivan

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

As demonstrated by the #MeToo movement, current attempts to curtail systemic sexual violence in the workplace have fallen flat: approximately sixty million US workers are subject to mandatory arbitration clauses, which employers tend to bury deep within the fine print of employment contracts. These clauses, often coupled with confidentiality agreements, have provided offenders--and their employers--with a mechanism to escape liability and public scrutiny. Under the existing judicial framework, whether a court will allow victims of workplace sexual violence to escape binding arbitration remains unclear. Congress attempted to address this uncertainty by proposing the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act …

Free Speech Or Slavery Profiteering?: Solutions For Policing Online Sex--Trafficking Advertisement, Marguerite A. O'Brien

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Online sex trafficking is big business. The Department of Homeland Security estimates that sex trafficking generates billions of dollars per year. The marketplace for sex has moved from the street corner to classified ad websites such as Backpage.com, and all too often the victims of online sex trafficking are minors. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported an 846 percent increase in reports of child sexual exploitation between 2010 and 2015--growth the organization attributes to the availability of sex ads on websites such as Backpage.com. Law enforcement agencies and victims have sought to hold Backpage.com liable for facilitating …

Sexual Privacy In The Internet Age: How Substantive Due Process Protects Online Obscenity, Jennifer M. Kinsley

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Obscenity is one of the narrow categories of speech that has historically lacked First Amendment free-speech protection, and courts and scholars alike have wrestled with the indefinable and often unworkable nature of the obscenity test. The advent of the Internet has both intensified and yet potentially resolved these problems. Recent Supreme Court cases, such as Lawrence v. Texas, suggest that sexually explicit expression that falls outside the scope of the First Amendment may nevertheless be entitled to privacy protection under Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process. Yet Lawrence's potential applicability to online obscenity has created tension in lower-court decisions and produced …

The Child As Victim And Perpetrator: Laws Punishing Juvenile "Sexting", Joanna L. Barry

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

As penalties for child pornography increase in severity across the United States, new technologies and teenage ingenuity are creating problems that legislatures never considered. In response to the "sexting" phenomenon, prosecutors are charging minors under traditional child pornography laws--originally intended to punish adult behavior--with creating, possessing, and distributing child pornography. These charges carry severe penalties, including sex offender registration, and unfairly punish impulsive juveniles. Some states, conscious of prosecutors' and parents' struggle to respond to this behavior, are proposing new legislation, such as supplementing traditional child pornography charges with a new offense for sexting and allowing prosecutors to choose from …

The 2008 Federal Obscenity Conviction Of Paul Little And What It Reveals About Obscenity Law And Prosecutions, Robert D. Richards, Clay Calvert

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article provides an inside perspective on the 2008 obscenity trial and conviction of veteran adult movie producer Paul Little, who is known in the adult industry as Max Hardcore. Little was sentenced by a federal judge to nearly four years in prison after a twelve-person jury in Tampa, Florida found him guilty of multiple counts of selling and distributing obscene content via the U.S. Mail and Internet.

The Article centers around comments and remarks drawn from four exclusive interviews conducted in person by the authors with: (1)Jeffrey Douglas, the California-based attorney who represented and defended Paul Little in United …

Pornography, Coercion, And Copyright Law 2.0, Ann Bartow

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The lack of regulation of the production of pornography in the United States leaves pornography performers exposed to substantial risks. Producers of pornography typically respond to attempts to regulate pornography as infringements upon free speech. At the same time, large corporations involved in the production and sale of pornography rely on copyright law's complex regulatory framework to protect their pornographic content from copying and unauthorized distribution. Web 2.0 also facilitates the production and distribution of pornography by individuals. These user-generators produce their own pornography, often looking to monetize their productions themselves via advertising revenues and subscription models. Much like their …

Porn In Their Words: Female Leaders In The Adult Entertainment Industry Address Free Speech, Censorship, Feminism, Culture And The Mainstreaming Of Adult Content, Clay Calvert, Robert D. Richards

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part I provides brief biographical information about each of the five women interviewed for this article. Part II then describes the interview and editing processes used by the authors, including details about when and where the interviews took place and the transcription process of the tapes used to record them. Next, Part III--the heart of the article--sets forth the views, opinions and comments of each of the five women, divided into three theme-based sections: 1) free speech and censorship of sexual content; 2) feminism and victimization; and 3) mainstreaming of adult entertainment and shifts of cultural mores. Finally, Part IV …

Reacting To Ashcroft V. Free Speech Coalition And The Burial Of The Cppa: An Argument To Regulate Digital Child Pornography Because It Incites Imminent Lawless Action, Justin Leach

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part I discusses the nature and origin of digital child pornography and how child pornography has traditionally fit into First Amendment analysis. Part II discusses Congress' reaction to digital innovations in child pornography by passing the Child Pornography Prevention Act and, Part II further explains the federal appellate courts' treatment of the CPPA. Part III discusses the history and arguments made for each side in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition. Part IV discusses the legal and constitutional analysis of the Supreme Court in striking down the regulations that banned digital child pornography. Finally, Part V makes an additional constitutional argument, …

Planning For The Future: Using Child Support Trusts To Prepare Both Father And Child For Life After Professional Sports, Thomas C. Quinlen

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The issue of professional athletes siring children out of wedlock was first thrust into the national conscience in an article in Sports Illustrated in May 1998. The SI piece was followed by several newspaper articles in various cities around the country, but like most hot news topics, it was quickly forgotten as the nation moved on to more pressing issues. This Note aims to revisit this issue with an eye towards practical and legal resolution of this pervasive problem, suggesting ways that lawyers and agents can establish child support trusts to represent their clients' interests and provide the best result …