GoFuckYourself.com - Adult Webmaster Forum - View Single Post - Stakes High for Webmasters in Free Speech Protest

Redrob · 12-24-2005, 10:11 AM

Mark Kernes, AVN, has written a detailed article from which this quote is taken:

Here, a single law enforcement agency and a single Judge have forced a citizen to cease engaging in presumptively protected speech before he has been convicted of any crime and before the existence of a crime has even been established," Lee and Edinger emphasize. "This latter point is crucial and must be reiterated: until a jury of his peers concludes that materials on Mr. Wilson?s website are obscene under prevailing law and applicable community standards, no crime has been committed. Indeed, the opposite is true; Mr. Wilson?s speech is completely protected unless it is finally adjudicated to be obscene."

and,

"If the procedures and substantive standards followed in this case are approved by the Courts, the chilling effect on protected speech will be dramatic," the amici warned. "A law enforcement agency could effectively prevent sexually explicit speech by bringing a single count of obscenity against a webmaster. If the webmaster failed to do 'take down' the site, he or she would risk incarceration on every occasion. The risk of a bail revocation is so high that the webmaster would be forced to self-censor in order to preserve his or her liberty pending a trial on the underlying charges. If remanding a defendant into custody for exercising First Amendment freedoms is upheld, no adult webmaster or operator who is within the physical reach of state or federal government officers can feel safe."

For the entire article click here.

If you are so inclined knowing Chris is sitting in jail this Christmas, you can donate a couple of bucks to help him at FreeChris.org

The time is now to wake up and smell the coffee....

12-24-2005, 10:11 AM
Redrob Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: In a refrigerator box by the tracks. Posts: 4,791	Stakes High for Webmasters in Free Speech Protest Mark Kernes, AVN, has written a detailed article from which this quote is taken: Here, a single law enforcement agency and a single Judge have forced a citizen to cease engaging in presumptively protected speech before he has been convicted of any crime and before the existence of a crime has even been established," Lee and Edinger emphasize. "This latter point is crucial and must be reiterated: until a jury of his peers concludes that materials on Mr. Wilson?s website are obscene under prevailing law and applicable community standards, no crime has been committed. Indeed, the opposite is true; Mr. Wilson?s speech is completely protected unless it is finally adjudicated to be obscene." and, "If the procedures and substantive standards followed in this case are approved by the Courts, the chilling effect on protected speech will be dramatic," the amici warned. "A law enforcement agency could effectively prevent sexually explicit speech by bringing a single count of obscenity against a webmaster. If the webmaster failed to do 'take down' the site, he or she would risk incarceration on every occasion. The risk of a bail revocation is so high that the webmaster would be forced to self-censor in order to preserve his or her liberty pending a trial on the underlying charges. If remanding a defendant into custody for exercising First Amendment freedoms is upheld, no adult webmaster or operator who is within the physical reach of state or federal government officers can feel safe." For the entire article click here. If you are so inclined knowing Chris is sitting in jail this Christmas, you can donate a couple of bucks to help him at FreeChris.org The time is now to wake up and smell the coffee.... Last edited by Redrob; 12-24-2005 at 10:12 AM..