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For further information, contact:
David Horowitz, Media Coalition, (212) 587-4025,
horowitz@mediacoalition.org
Leslie Williams, ACLU of Vermont, 802-223-6304,
acluvt@aol.com
For Immediate Release
NEW YORK, N.Y., August 28, 2003–
The United States Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, N.Y. yesterday
affirmed a Vermont federal district court decision holding a
Vermont Internet law unconstitutional under both the First
Amendment and the federal Commerce Clause. The law, which
prohibited the distribution of non-obscene sexually explicit
material that are defined as “harmful to minors” on the Internet
if they could be accessed by persons under 18, was found by the
Court of Appeals to burden speech protected by the First
Amendment and not be narrowly tailored.
The suit was brought by a broad
array of affected persons—American Booksellers Foundation for
Free Expression (ABFFE). American Civil Liberties Union of
Vermont, Inc. Association of American Publishers, Inc, Freedom
to Read Foundation, National Association of Recording
Merchandisers, Northshire Information, Inc., PSInet, Inc.,
Recording Industry Association of America, Inc. and Sexual
Health Network, Inc. Chris Finan, president of ABFFE, stated
that “It is reassuring that the Court of Appeals has recognized
the primacy and importance of the First Amendment to persons
involved in the communication of ideas.”
Michael A. Bamberger of
Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal LLP, lead counsel for the
plaintiffs, pointed out that “Despite the fact that state after
state has been passing laws such as this Vermont law, they have
uniformly been struck down as unconstitutional. It demonstrates
that even well-intentioned attempts to protect minors must be
drafted so that they do not restrict the access of adults and
older teenagers to material to which they are constitutionally
entitled.”
Nolan Burkhouse of the Law
Offices of Charles Platto PLC, Norwich, Vermont, was co-counsel
for plaintiffs. The ACLU of Vermont was represented by David
Putter of Montpelier, Vermont, and Markus Brakhan of Burlington,
Vermont. |
