Ban on anonymous leafletting violates First Amendment; court sees 'important role' for secrecy
Article Abstract:
The US Supreme Court reversed the Ohio Supreme Court ruling in McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission and found that a law requiring political leaflets to disclose the identity of the publisher was an overbroad and unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. The Court found that the right of anonymity outweighed the state's need to monitor election fraud and the truthfulness of political statements. The Ohio courts erred in failing to apply strict scrutiny to the state's justifications for restricting political speech.
Publication Name: News Media & the Law
Subject: Literature/writing
ISSN: 0149-0737
Year: 1995
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Ban on anonymous speech, use of trade names ruled unconstitutional
Article Abstract:
A US District Court ruled that Georgia's law making the use of trade names, pseudonyms and anonymous speech on the Internet a criminal act was unconstitutional because it was a content-based speech restriction. Enforcement of the law is temporarily enjoined because it lacks definitions indicating the goal of fraud prevention and so could be applied arbitrarily and infringe on free speech rights. The definitions of use are vague and so would limit the use of trade names for links.
Publication Name: News Media & the Law
Subject: Literature/writing
ISSN: 0149-0737
Year: 1997
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Law limiting adult programming violates First Amendment
Article Abstract:
A special three-judge panel of the US district court in Delaware ruled in Playboy Entertainment Group v. US that a provision of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 applying to cable television is unconstitutional. The provision forbid cable telecasts of sexually explicit programs when children were likely to be watching. The court found this to violate First Amendment free speech rights. Such telecasting is now permissible on a 24-hour basis if it is scrambled.
Publication Name: News Media & the Law
Subject: Literature/writing
ISSN: 0149-0737
Year: 1999
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Mass purchase of newspapers violates First Amendment rights. Handling of subpoenas juder DHS worries journalists
- Abstracts: House, Senate pass war spending bills. Bush's supplemental contains billions for secret procurements. Navy provides censored and uncensored copies of audit
- Abstracts: Boats and booze. Spending time to craft writing plan best presentation of story. Public slumlord
- Abstracts: Firestone fiasco: tire tread story bubbles up from court cases, interviews. DNA testing: study calls into question long-trusted lab results
- Abstracts: Confusion about names may show actual malice, state high court says. part 2 Mayoral candidate cannot prove 'actual malice' in political ad