Packingham Update: Oral Arguments Concluded and Seem to have Gone Well
The SCOTUS heard oral argument in Packingham this morning and the initial feedback is that the hearing went well! GREAT NEWS!
Here’s the latest report
WASHINGTON —
The Supreme Court appears likely to strike down a North Carolina law that prohibits sex offenders from using Facebook and other social networking sites.
At least five justices suggested during argument Monday they would rule for North Carolina resident Lester Packingham Jr. He was convicted of violating a 2008 law aimed at keeping sex offenders off internet sites children might use. Packingham used Facebook to boast about beating a traffic ticket.
Justice Elena Kagan pointed out that the law is so broad it also prevents people from reading the Twitter accounts of President Donald Trump, all 50 governors and members of Congress.
The state’s lawyer said the law deals with the virtual world in the same way that states keep sex offenders out of playgrounds and other places children visit.
I’m sure this is one we will follow very closely. I never want to count my chickens before they hatch… Hopefully they do the right thing and find for Mr. Packingham. But its blatantly obvious to all of us, that the residency restrictions and proximity ordinances are also too broad and do not achieve desired goals.
Poor explanation by the State..
They’re listening Gail! Thank you and everyone for all you do. This has been a nightmare for me my family and friends. God bless.
As one SCOTUS reporter described it:
Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner
NC presented case it felt best supported its position, Burson v. Freeman. Kennedy said if that’s your best case, you lose. #SCOTUS
This in from Bloomberg:
(Bloomberg) — U.S. Supreme Court justices cast doubt on a North Carolina law that bars registered sex offenders from using Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Hearing arguments in Washington, a majority of the justices indicated they read the law as going too far in restricting First Amendment rights and cutting off services that have become almost indispensable to millions of Americans.
Facebook and Twitter “have become incredibly important parts of our political culture, our religious culture,” Justice Elena Kagan said. She suggested the measure might bar people from reading President Donald Trump’s Twitter messages.
Justice Anthony Kennedy said the discussions on social media are “greater than any communication you could have had even in the paradigmatic public square.”
The court is hearing an appeal from Lester Gerard Packingham, who says he is one of more than 1,000 people prosecuted under the state’s 2008 law. The North Carolina statute, one of the nation’s strictest, bars registered sex offenders from using commercial social networking sites that let minors become members.
Packingham was convicted after setting up a Facebook account under a false name and posting a message that praised God for the dismissal of a traffic ticket.
In 2002, Packingham, then 21, was indicted on two counts of statutory rape of a 13-year-old. He pleaded guilty to taking indecent liberties with a child and was put on the state’s sex-offender registry.
The two sides dispute just how far-reaching the North Carolina law is. Packingham’s lawyers say its wording is broad enough to prohibit access to nytimes.com. The state says the measure bars access only to true social-networking sites where people can link to the personal pages of other users.
The case, which the court will resolve by June, is Packingham v. North Carolina, 15-1194.