Read on for more information on the details of the court challenge. I'm very happy to know that Donna Hoffman and Howard Rheingold will be testifying. They and other ACLU/CIEC witnesses and plaintiffs have been deposed by the DoJ over the last two weeks in Washington, DC. During the weeks separating the two sets of hearing dates, we will be deposing witnesses that the DoJ plans to call. I would expect those witnesses to dispute, among other things, the effectiveness of filtering software and other forms of indecency-blocking. -Declan // declan@eff.org // I do not represent the EFF // declan@well.com // March 20, 1996 _________________________________________________________________ News from the ACLU National Headquarters ACLU V. RENO: Background Briefing Three-Judge Panel to Hear ACLU Testimony in Landmark Challenge to Internet Censorship Law PHILADELPHIA, PA--Beginning tomorrow, a three-judge panel in federal district court in Philadelphia will hear testimony in the consolidated cases of ACLU et al v. Reno and American Library Association et al v. Reno, the landmark challenge to censorship provisions of the Telecommunications Law of 1996. Free speech in cyberspace is at stake as the first major legal challenge to censorship on the Internet gets underway. The case began when the ACLU filed a motion for a temporary restraining order against indecency provisions of the Telecommunications Bill immediately after it was signed into law by President Clinton on February 8. The suit challenges provisions of the law that criminalize making available to minors "indecent" or "patently offensive" speech. Acting on behalf of 20 individuals and organizations that provide information via the Internet -- including itself -- the ACLU said it was moving quickly because it feared that the telecommunications legislation would have an immediate impact on the Internet. Following this action, a second legal challenge was filed on February 26 by a coalition of more than 20 corporate and trade organizations known as the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (CIEC). The CIEC suit, organized by the American Library Association, America Online and the Center for Democracy and Technology, was formally consolidated with ACLU v. Reno. The CIEC lawsuit, which addresses essentially the same issues as the ACLU challenge, further illustrates the broad spectrum of individuals and organizations that would be affected by the censorship provisions, and strengthens the case for a finding that the law is unconstitutional. The Court Case According to procedures laid out by the judges, direct testimony in ACLU v. Reno is to be submitted via affidavit. During the three days of testimony allowed, which will take place over March 21 and 22 and April 1, lawyers for the Department of Justice will cross-examine coalition witnesses, after which lawyers for the ACLU and ALA coalitions will have an opportunity to redirect, i.e., question their witnesses in response to the government's cross-examination. In preparation for the case, lawyers for the Department of Justice have been deposing all the ACLU and CIEC witnesses it may choose to cross-examine. So far, government lawyers have declined to cross- examine only two witnesses: Christine Soto and Hunter Allen, teenagers whose affidavits attest to the importance of uncensored access to the Internet by minors. The government is scheduled to present its witnesses for cross- examination on April 11 and 12, 1996. A fourth day of testimony has been scheduled for April 26, to allow the ACLU and ALA coalitions to present witnesses rebutting the government's testimony. Following these six days of trial, the judges will issue a ruling. Depending on the outcome, either side may seek an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Witnesses Thursday, March 21: --Scott O. Bradner, senior technical consultant, Information Technology Services, Harvard University (ALA) --Ann W. Duvall, president, SurfWatch Inc. (ALA) --Patricia Nell Warren, author and publisher, WildCat Press (ACLU) Friday, March 22 --Donna Hoffman, associate professor of management, Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University (ACLU) --William Stayton, psychologist and Baptist minister (ACLU) --Robert B. Cronenberger, director, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Professor (ALA) --Kiyoshi Kuromiya, director, Critical Path AIDS Project (ACLU) Monday, April 1 --Howard Rheingold, author and cyberspace expert --Barry Steinhardt, associate director, ACLU --Stephen Donaldson, Stop Prisoner Rape (*Note: schedule is subject to change) Chronology February 7 -- At a news conference in Washington, D.C., the ACLU announces plans to seek a temporary restraining order against indecency provisions of the Telecommunications Bill immediately after it is signed into law by President Clinton on February 8. --The ACLU announces the launch of its new "Freedom Network" World Wide Web site, <http://www.aclu.org>, with a home page declaring, "Keep Cyberspace Free." Over 200,000 hits are recorded in the first 48 hours of the launch. February 8 --The ACLU files its legal challenge in federal district court in Philadelphia before Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter. -- In the first court action over the constitutionality of the Communications Decency Act , Judge Buckwalter directs the government to refrain from prosecuting for so-called indecent or patently offensive material online until the motion for a TRO is decided. -- The judge instructs the government to file a reply brief to the ACLU's request for a TRO within one week. --Government lawyers conceded that the abortion speech restrictions of the CDA are unconstitutional. February 15 -- Judge Buckwalter grants a temporary restraining order on the indecency provisions of the Communications Decency Act, and denies the TRO motions on prosecution for "patently offensive material" and on the "Comstock Law" abortion speech provisions of the CDA. --A three-judge panel is convened to hear the case: Chief Judge Dolores K. Sloviter, Judge Stuart Dalzell, and Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter. February 21 --More than 5,000 visitors to the ACLU website use the "instant action" feature to e-mail or fax Attorney General Janet Reno, urging her not to prosecute under the new law. February 23 -- ACLU announces that government lawyers have agreed not to initiate investigations or prosecute Internet "indecency" until three-judge court rules on the case. --Hearing dates set for the case; the ACLU will present its evidence on March 21 and 22, with April 1 reserved. The government's dates are April 11 and 12, 1996. The total trial is scheduled to last five days. February 26 --More than 20 corporate and trade organizations, known as the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (CIEC), initiate a second legal challenge to the Communications Decency Act. February 27 --The CIEC suit, organized by the American Library Association, America Online and the Center for Democracy and Technology, is formally consolidated with ACLU v. Reno. March 21 --Trial opens at 9:30 a.m. in the ceremonial courtroom in federal district court in Philadelphia. ### Contact: Emily Whitfield, (212) 944-9800 ext.426 _________________________________________________________________ Media Relations Office 132 W 43rd Street, NYC 10036 (212) 944-9800 ext. 414