Just in from Tom Hymes at FSC:
Judge Miller Has Issued a Ruling on Plaintiff?s Motion for a
Preliminary Injunction in Free Speech Coalition v. Gonzales
Denver ? United States District Court Judge Walker D. Miller issued a long-awaited ruling today on plaintiff?s motion for a preliminary injunction in Free Speech Coalition v. Gonzales, the trade association?s challenge to U.S.C. 18 §2257, the federal labeling and record keeping regulations. Our immediate reaction is that the ruling deals a substantial and welcome blow to the government?s regulatory scheme.
The 29-page ruling was issued this afternoon in Denver, and is currently being assessed by the Free Speech Coalition legal team. An analysis of the ruling will be made available as soon as possible, as will an official reaction by the Free Speech Coalition, but what can be stated without reservation, and about which we are clearly pleased, is that the ruling enjoins the secondary producer provision of the regulations, as stated below,
??Plaintiffs [FSC et al] have shown a substantial likelihood of success of establishing that the statute and regulations may not be enforced as to secondary producers who are not involved in any activity that involves ?hiring, contracting for, managing, or otherwise arranging for the participation of the performers depicted. U.S.C. 18 §2257 (h) (3)?
The ruling is available at
www.freespeechcoalition.com.
The Free Speech Coalition will make every effort to respond to specific inquiries about this ruling, and asks that all interested parties take the opportunity to attend the FSC membership meeting in Las Vegas on Thursday, January 5, 2006, in Room 403 of the Sands Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada, adjacent to the Venetian Hotel and Casino. By then, FSC attorneys will have had time to analyze the ruling and will be in attendance to answer your questions.
Independent of any future FSC analysis, we caution all members and non-members who may be affected by this ruling to seek legal advice about how to respond to this ruling.
Free Speech Coalition is the trade organization of the adult entertainment industry. Its mission is to safeguard the industry from oppressive governmental regulation and to promote good business practices within the industry.