Whether the child pornography offense set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) should be interpreted as including at least a recklessly mens rea element regarding the status of the minor, thereby avoiding significant constitutional questions under the First and Fifth Amendments

QUESTIONS PRESENTED In Elonis v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2001 (2015), this Court recently held that a federal criminal threats statute required a knowingly mens rea and thereby avoided the constitutional question of whether the First Amendment required a particular level of scienter. This case presents related questions in the context of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a), a federal child pornography statute. The questions presented are: 1. Whether the child pornography offense set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) should be interpreted as including at least a recklessly mens rea element regarding the status of the minor, thereby avoiding significant constitutional questions under the First and Fifth Amendments. 2. Whether, under the First Amendment, a child pornography offense must require at least a recklessly mens rea as to the status of the minor in order to distinguish wrongful conduct from conduct. 3. Whether a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence for a strict liability offense violates the Fifth Amendment. i