The statute criminalizes a government official who "knowingly and willfully":

"The statute could arguably criminalize what could be innocent communication," he said.

"The statute criminalizes any audiotaping without regard to expectations of privacy, even if those events that are being audiotaped occur in the open, in public, for anyone to see and hear and otherwise observe," one of the judges said.

In the United Kingdom, several statutes criminalize hate speech against several categories of persons.

The statute Mr. Corley is challenging, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, criminalizes the distribution of any device that can be used to break a security code intended to protect digital movies, music and books from being copied.

However, by its own terms, the statute criminalizes acts such as "intimidation."

"The statute criminalizes gun possession in this country, not abroad," he said.

The statute now criminalizes using or carrying a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking offense or crime of violence, as well as the mere possession of a firearm in furtherance of such an offense.