Expert: Dan Pepper - 2/6/2009

Question
which ones?  how do i find out?  i am assuming that all normal legal issues have been taken care of.

Answer
Unfortunately there is no simple answer to your question.

A little bit of background is necessary:

In 1988, the California Supreme Court in a case named People v. Freeman. decided that pandering laws could not be used as a "tool to impose a system of governmental censorship of erotic materials."  Effectively, this means that the production of adult content in California is not pandering on the part of the producer, nor prostitution on the part of the performers.

With the explosion of adult content on the Internet since the 1990s, and the fact that very few pandering or prostitution charges were brought against adult performers or producers, it has generally been assumed that such content could be produced in the U.S. without risking these types of charges.

That being said, no other state in the U.S. has considered the decision in the Freeman case, which means we don't have a definite answer how other states will handle it, except that under limited circumstances in Rhode Island and New Hampshire, certain filming is legal.  It is safe to assume that the more conservative jurisdiction you produce your content, the higher your risk.

Additionally, any adult content that is considered "obscene" under the definition of the U.S. Supreme Court, is also prohibited and illegal.  Florida has recently been active in bringing obscenity charges against what is typically been considered "extreme" content.

How does this apply to you?  Your best bet is to have a qualified attorney give you an analysis based upon your particular situation - where you are producing and the nature of your content.  If you'd like to contact me, you can do so through www.adultwebsitelawyer.com.