NJ registrants challenge porn and social media ban
Two New Jersey registrants have filed a lawsuit seeking to declare the ban on sex offense parolees from accessing social media and adult pornography. The restrictions, they argue, violate their First Amendment rights under Supreme Court precedent in Packingham and Miller.
A copy of the complaint can be read here: loniewski-v-parole-board
Can New Jersey Parolee’s federal first amendment rights be abridged by the NJ prison system?
My guess would be yes (as long as there was due process like an explicit waiver as part of a plea bargain, or that explicit legislation was previously in place).
Am I wrong?
What Im wondering is if they put something in the rules that is basically illegal to begin with how can it be enforced ? For instance if a regisrant put a sign up that said “convicted does not mean you were actully guilty. And just because you are convinced does not mean you are dangerous or a monster” and they make a rule in the probation orders that says you can not put up such a sign, that rule would violate your freedom of speech . so how could it be enforced ?
The suicidal media should be a no brainer as there is case law on it. The porn is interesting and likely to stir up some stuff. It should be interesting to see which way that goes, and why. Thanks for sharing this.
Oops. Social media.
The first statement to any court should be “we need this court to define pornography.” As one jurist said years ago, “I can’t define what pornography is but I know it when I see it.” That is not a legal standard. If it was, many baroque period paintings could meet the definition. If they don’t, what about Playboy or a variety of other publications that are clearly protected under the First Amendment? Where does pornography begin and end? Call me bitter, but I was sent to federal prison because a judge left it up to a federal agent to speculate that a series of nonnude pictures of a “young person” was child pornography. Yet, nobody testified as to age. And there was no nudity! We live now in a war of definitions.
I don’t know that this is a battle worth fighting. Wait till you’re off probation. Not sure how they can enforce. I can see the social media angle as that clearly should fall under 1st Amendment. Porn, however, is a different beast. I put a piece of parental software on my machine and had my wife create the login/password. Boom – no temptation
You realize they are on lifetime, right?
Also this is more about the First Amendment than the content of the speech.
Life ,liberty and the pursuit of happiness is what we are supposed to be guaranteed. I guess you could argue porn makes you happy lol
This article cites the brave acts of some outspoken FAC members and overall is the best available summary of the collateral consequences of sex offending.