Appeals Court Affirms Vermont Internet Law Is Unconstitutional

August 28, 2003

On August 27, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York 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 on the Internet of non-obscene sexually explicit materials that are defined as "harmful to minors" 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 to not be narrowly tailored.

"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," said Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), one of the organizations that brought the suit.

Michael A. Bamberger of Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal LLP, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said, "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."

In addition to ABFFE, the other organizations that brought the suit are the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont, Inc.; the Association of American Publishers, Inc.; the 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.

For a previous article on this topic, click here.

Topics: Free Expression, News - Bookselling,