ACLJ & Members of Congress Urge Supreme Court to Uphold Constitutionality of Children's Internet Protection Act.

Business Editors/Legal Writers

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 2003

The American Center for Law and Justice, an international public interest law firm, said today the U.S. Supreme Court has an important opportunity to protect children from online pornography by upholding the constitutionality of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA).

"There is nothing unconstitutional about the Children's Internet Protection Act," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case. "Without question, public libraries have a compelling interest to protect the physical and psychological well being of children - and that includes the type of material viewed by children in libraries. The First Amendment is not under attack here. The law is a reasonable and constitutional way to protect children from online pornography in public libraries."

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case today and was asked to overturn a ruling by a three-judge panel in Philadelphia which held CIPA to be unconstitutional.

In an amicus brief filed on behalf of the ACLJ and nine members of Congress, the ACLJ contended that CIPA is constitutional and narrowly targets pornography in public areas - specifically public libraries - without suppressing speech. The brief also argued that CIPA merely encourages libraries to do what the First Amendment permits, which is to exclude child pornography, obscenity, and materials harmful to minors from a nonpublic forum because they hinder the purposes the libraries serve.

The ACLJ represents itself and nine members of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rep. Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL), Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO), Rep. Michael Collins (R-GA), Rep. Jo Ann S. Davis (R-VA), Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Rep. Ernest Istook, Jr. (R-OK), Rep. Jim Ryun (R-KS), Rep. John M. Shimkus (R-IL), and Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK). The brief is available online at www.aclj.org.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Library Association challenged the act which was signed into law by President Clinton in 2000. CIPA mandates that any public library that refuses to install Internet filtering software on its computers would become ineligible for federal funds for technology upgrades.

Following the oral arguments in the case today, the Supreme Court will issue its decision before the end of this term.

The American Center for Law and Justice is an international public interest law firm specializing in constitutional law. The ACLJ is headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA and its web site address is www.aclj.org.