[Lurking Libertarian]

This is bodes ill for America's future. The highest court in the land made it virtually impossible to prosecute ANY child porn. It is now left to police departments to prove that the porn they found on someone's computer is a picture of a real child. That is a virtually impossible task. Yesterday it became legal to own, share, and create child porn (because no one will ever be able to prove it wasn't done digitally - and they'll soon stop trying).

Did you read the Court's decision? Both the majority opinion and Justice Thomas's concurrence specifically address this issue. The Court relied on the fact that, under today's technology, it is possible to tell a real from a virtual image, and also said that, if it ever becomes technologically impossible to tell the difference, Congress could constitutionally put the burden of proof on the defendant to prove that a real-looking image was in fact a virtual one.

[general_re]

The Court relied on the fact that, under today's technology, it is possible to tell a real from a virtual image, and also said that, if it ever becomes technologically impossible to tell the difference, Congress could constitutionally put the burden of proof on the defendant to prove that a real-looking image was in fact a virtual one.

Exactly - 100% correct. This is exactly what Justice Thomas was referring to by discussing the future possibility of affirmative defenses.

[UnsinkableMollyBrown]

Did you read the Court's decision? Both the majority opinion and Justice Thomas's concurrence specifically address this issue. The Court relied on the fact that, under today's technology, it is possible to tell a real from a virtual image,

That is not true. Using a variety of software that is currently available, one can make a lifelike image purely from imagination. One would be hard pressed to tell a real photo from a digital creation.

and also said that, if it ever becomes technologically impossible to tell the difference, Congress could constitutionally put the burden of proof on the defendant to prove that a real-looking image was in fact a virtual one.

But right now the burden of proof is on the police and prosecuting attorneys. Bad idea. And would you really trust our congressional leaders to shift the burden back where it belongs, i.e. the perverts have to prove their images were created on the computer?

I will be back later to pick up my flames.