Reno v. ACLU Essay examples - 2054 Words

Reno v. ACLU The conflict began on February 8, 1996, when President Clinton signed the CDA law and ACLU, along with EPIC and eighteen other plaintiffs, immediately filed its legal challenge. ACLU v. Reno represents the first legal challenge to censorship provisions of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). The CDA makes it a crime, punishable by up to two years in jail and/or a $250,000 fine, for anyone to engage in speech that is â€Å"indecent† or â€Å"patently offensive† on computer networks if the speech can be viewed by a minor. The ACLU is a nationwide, non-partisan organization dedicated to defending and preserving the Bill of Rights for all individuals through litigation, legislation and public education. EPIC is a non-profit,†¦show more content†¦The ACLU argued in the lower court that the censorship provisions are unconstitutional because they would criminalize expression that is protected by the First Amendment and because the terms â€Å"indecency† an d â€Å"patently offensive† are unconstitutionally overbroad and vague. ACLU plaintiffs Particia Nell Warren of Wild Cat Press and Kiyoshi Kuromiya of the Critical Path AIDS Project told judges they fear censorship under the new law. Ann Duvall, president of Surf Watch, took judges on a first-ever live tour of the Internet, including a demonstration of how her company’s software blocks access to sites deemed unsuitable for children. Dr. Donna Hoffman, an expert witness on marketing in cyberspace, tells the court that the censorship law would destroy the democratic nature of cyberspace, causing many â€Å"mom pop† websites to close up shop for fear of civil and criminal penalties under the vague â€Å"indecency† ban. Government witness Howard Schmidt conceded under cross-examination that it is â€Å"highly unlikely† for anyone to come across sexually explicit information on the Internet by accident. Plaintiff witness Dr. Albert Vezza told the court about PICS (Platform for Internet Content Selection), a new rating system designed to allow parents to control children’s access to the Internet without censorship. DanShow MoreRelatedReno V. Aclu1029 Words   |  5 Pageswere Janet Reno, attorney general (1993-2001) of the United States, which also makes her the head of the U.S. Department of Justice, she is the first woman in this position#, and the American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU). The ACLU is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserve and extend the basic rights of the U.S. constitution.# b. The problem began when President Clinton signed the Telecommunications Reform Bill into law on February 8,1996. A group of people, led by the ACLU went to courtRead MoreIn Order To Measure The Legal Realm Of Social Media, It1616 Words   |  7 Pagesin terms of legality. The following section will cover precedent cases that deal with the topic of Social Media and if it is protected by the First Amendment. The first case to be covered is Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which entails several litigants behind Attorney General Janet Reno challenging the constitutionality of provisions of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. This act was intended to protect minors from content on the internet that is found unsuitable for their viewingRead More Internet Censorship Essay2832 Words   |  12 Pageswas a part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (ACLU v. Reno II). Due to the CDA, â€Å"speech which is quite legal in a book or magazine should be banned from the Internet† (Wallace). This part of Telecommunications Act of 1996 criminalizes what the Government thinks is â€Å"indecent† speech on the Internet (Wallace). The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, stated in the Supreme Court brief before the ensuing lawsuit â€Å"The CDA is unconstitutional† (ACLU in the Courts). According to the Citizens InternetRead MoreThe United States Constitution Vs. American Civil Liberties Union798 Words   |  4 Pagesstipulations with these laws. Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) did shed some insight on the laws and how they can be interpreted. This paper will discuss the criminal statute issues, issues with the provisions of the Constitution, and the status of criminal prosecution for transmission of pornography over the internet. With the hopes of having a clearer understanding of Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union. The First Amendment was a key component in Reno v. ACLU. It states that CongressRead MoreEssay on The First Amendment and its Impact on Media1134 Words   |  5 Pagesdefamation has adapted to the advent of the telegraph, telephone, radio, motion pictures, television, and is quickly adapting to the computer. The most famous defamation case, which still sets precedent in todays cases, is New York Times v. Sullivan (1964). New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) is the leading case on the question of defamation liability for media defendants. The case, heard before the Supreme Court, declared that public officials and figures could not recover for an alleged defamation unlessRead More Free Speech on the Internet v. United States Constitution Essay1681 Words   |  7 Pagesorganization filed a lawsuit against the CDA and the court also ruled in their favor. (Lewis) More and more cases began popping up in federal courts until December of 96 when it was finally brought before the Supreme Co urt in Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union.(ACLU v Janet Reno) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The problem with the CDA was the fact that it didn’t clearly define indecent material. Many thought the broadness of the terminology used in the bill made it impossible for this law ever to lastRead MoreEssay on Cyberspace and Internet Censorship2282 Words   |  10 Pagescountries (ACLU v. Reno: Plaintiffs Findings of Fact. http://www.aclu.org/issues/cyber/trial/finding.htm). Through the Internet, information, graphics, music, and computer programs relating to every topic imaginable is available, from rocket science to bomb making, from computer games to hacking programs, from famous works of art to hard-core pornography. It is to this, the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed, that censorship is proposed (ACLU Press Release - 06/12/96: ACLU LAUDSRead MoreAnalysis Of The Stimulus Material Given I Saw A Relationship Between Mexico And The United States Essay2124 Words   |  9 Pagesfor the sake of the people. The amendment has been defined based on different court cases, showing the limits of the right. Obscenity was defined from the case of Miller vs. California. The Cornell University Law School, declared that after the Miller v. California case obscenity would be defined as: whether ‘the average person, applying contemporary community standards’ would find that the work, ‘taken as a whole,’ appeals to ‘prurient [lustful] interest’ whether the work depicts or describes, inRead MoreThe Legal Model Of Judicial Decision Making That The Supreme Court Uses Essay1023 Words   |  5 Pages Included are the legal model, in which the decisions are based solely on the provided facts on the case. (Mitchel) It can also choose to let previous case hearings and decisions influence the decision for the case at hand. An example would be Reno v. ACLU where the court ruled that the anti-obscenity law was to broadly written that it violated the first amendment right. (Mitchel) Another methodology used is the attitudinal model, where the justices can make any decision they wish without fear ofRead More Understanding Online Sexual Harassment Essay3822 Words   |  16 PagesFederalist Papers. Past judicial rulings show a tendency of the courts to favor anonymity. The court in A.C.L.U v. Miller 977 F. Supp.1228 (N.D, Ga. 1997) overruled a state law prohibiting anonymous Internet communications. The holding of the court in McIntyr e v Ohio Elections Commission 514 U.S. 334 (1995) was that the distribution of anonymous leaflets was protected by the First Amendment. In NAACP v Alabama, 357 U.S. 449 (1958), the Court upheld the right of an organization to refuse to surrender its membership