FC: Lawsuit against federal obscenity law asks for prosecution ban

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Politech archive on the original filing of this lawsuit last year:
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02929.html
---

Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 10:20:14 -0400
To: declan () well com
From: Michael Kaminer PR <news () mkpr com>
Subject: Group Seeks Injuction on Web Obscenity Law

For Immediate Release

For Information Contact:
Patrick Kowalczyk, patrick () mkpr com
Michael Kaminer Public Relations, 212.627.8098

CIVIL LIBERTIES GROUP, NYC ARTIST SEEK INJUNCTION
ON U.S. WEB OBSCENITY PROSECUTIONS

Alliance of Free Speech Experts and Civil Liberties Groups Express Support 
For Landmark Lawsuit Seeking to Overturn Federal Web Obscenity Law

NEW YORK CITY (May 24, 2002) - The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom 
(NCSF) and artist Barbara Nitke today filed a motion seeking a preliminary 
injunction that would prevent the United States from using the obscenity 
provision of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) to prosecute individuals 
who operate Web sites.

This motion comes less than two weeks after the May 13th decision by the 
U.S. Supreme Court in Ascroft v. ACLU, in which a majority of the Justices 
stated that the application of local community standards to online 
materials could deprive citizens of their rights to free speech by allowing 
the most puritanical communities to enforce their own standards on the 
entire nation.

In December 2001, NCSF and Nitke filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court 
in New York City that would overturn the remaining obscenity provisions of 
the CDA. The indencency provisions were struck down by the Supreme Court in 
1997.

"In light of the Supreme Court's recently expressed concerns about applying 
community standards to the Internet, it is more important than ever that we 
make sure this law is not enforced until its constitutionality can be 
determined," said Susan Wright, NCSF spokesperson. "We remain extremely 
concerned that Attorney General Ashcroft will seek prosecutions under this 
law."

"The purpose of this motion is to ensure that the Internet is not 
transformed from a free-ranging, open round-table into a forum in which 
only speech that is inoffensive under the most prudish standard is safe 
from fear of prosecution," said constitutional scholar and author John 
Wirenius, legal counsel for NCSF and a partner in Leeds Morelli & Brown, P.C.

The motion is supported by a wide range of expert testimony. Affidavits 
were submitted by: Arthur Danto, Johnsonian Professor Emeritus at Columbia 
University and an expert on Robert Mapplethorpe; pioneering Internet 
philosopher Howard Rheingold; and free speech activist and adult filmmaker 
Candida Royalle. Robert and Carleen Thomas, who were convicted in 1994 
under the community standards of Memphis, TN for Internet postings that 
were deemed inoffensive in their local Northern California community, filed 
testimony in support of the lawsuit.

A cross-section of experts and civil liberties groups also filed documents 
expressing their support of overturning the CDA. Joining NCSF and Nitke as 
"friends of the Court" are the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the First 
Amendment Lawyers Association, Society for the Scientific Study of 
Sexuality, the Triangle Foundation, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

The motion for a preliminary injunction was filed to a three-judge panel 
consisting of Circuit Judge Robert D. Sack, District Judge Richard M. 
Berman, and District Judge Gerard E. Lynch. The U.S. Attorney conversely 
filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that the statute is 
plainly constitutional.

Based in Washington, D.C., NCSF (http://www.ncsfreedom.org) is a national 
organization committed to protecting freedom of sexual expression among 
consenting adults. Hailed by The Village Voice for her quest "to find 
humanity in marginal sex," Nitke has gained worldwide attention for her 
photographs chronicling relationships between consenting adults engaged in 
sadomasochistic activities. She operates a Web site displaying her artwork 
at http://www.barbaranitke.com.

For more information visit: http://ncsfreedom.org/library/press_room.html




-------------------------------------------------------------------------
POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list
You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice.
To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html
This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------