INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana law that bans registered sex offenders from using Facebook and other social networking sites that can be accessed by children is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. The 7th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Chicago overturned a federal judge’s decision upholding the law, saying the state was justified in trying to protect children but that the “blanket ban” went too far by restricting free speech. The 2008 law “broadly prohibits substantial protected speech rather than specifically targeting the evil of improper communications to minors,” the…
Read MoreDay: January 23, 2013
Huntington Beach changes sex-offender ordinances after lawsuit [updated with video]
HUNTINGTON BEACH – The city has changed its sex-offender park ban after the law’s constitutionality was challenged in court. City Council members on Tuesday approved an amended ordinance that will allow police Chief Kenneth Small to write case-by-case exemptions to the sex-offender ordinance based on his discretion. The change comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by a convicted sex offender in October, naming Huntington Beach and other Orange County cities, which says the ordinances that ban sex offenders from parks and other public areas are unconstitutional. Lake Forest,…
Read MoreHuntington Beach to consider changes to sex offender rule
HUNTINGTON BEACH – City Council members will discuss changing an ordinance to allow some exceptions to a ban on sex offenders in city parks. The council will meet on Tuesday to discuss allowing Police Chief Kenneth Small to make exemptions to the rule based on his discretion, according to city reports. The changes come on the heels of a lawsuit filed in October, naming Huntington Beach and other Orange County cities, which says that the ordinances that ban sex offenders from parks and other public areas are unconstitutional. Full Article
Read MoreIN: RSOs and Social Media Prohibition
A recent Indiana statute prohibits most registered sex offenders from using social networking websites, instant messaging services, and chat programs. John Doe, on behalf of a class of similarly situated sex offenders, challenges this law on First Amendment grounds. We reverse the district court and hold that the law as drafted is unconstitutional. Though content neutral, we conclude that the Indiana law is not narrowly tailored to serve the state’s interest. It broadly prohibits substantial protected speech rather than specifically targeting the evil of improper communications to minors. * *…
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