Hatch v. Superior Court

In Hatch v. Superior Court (2000) 80 Cal.App.4th 170 the Fourth District rejected a similar First Amendment challenge. The court in that case found that section 288.2 did not violate the First Amendment because it does not regulate speech, but rather curtails certain conduct. ( Hatch v. Superior Court, supra, 80 Cal.App.4th at p. 201.) As Hatch explained, section 288.2 "punishes those who seek not discourse, but intercourse and other sexual activity, and who have identified intended victims for pursuit and seduction." (Ibid.)