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Criminal Law Keyed to Gershowitz
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union
Citation:
521 U.S. 844, 117 S.Ct. 2329, 138 L.Ed.2d 874.Facts
The American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) challenged the constitutionality of two provisions in the 1996 Communications Decency Act known as the “indecent transmission” provision and the “patently offensive display” provision. 47 U.S.C. A. § 223(a) (Supp. 1997) prohibited the knowing transmission of obscene or indecent messages to any recipient under 18 years of age and 47 U.S.C. A. § 223(d)(Supp. 1997) prohibited the knowing sending or displaying of patently offensive messages in a manner that is available to a person under 18 years of age. The ACLU argued that these provisions abridges the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania stopped enforcement of these provisions. Janet Reno, the Attorney General for the United States, appealed.
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