August 10, 2012 (Press-News.org) Louisiana Federal District Court Judge Brian Jackson ruled a state statute that prohibited sex offenders from using Internet sites is unconstitutional.
The court found the law overbroad, in that it banned sex offenders who had completed the terms of their sentence from accessing virtually all Internet sites, including court websites.
A political science professor Tao Dumas discussing the decision in The Daily Reveille phrased the issue as, "Does your ability to use the Internet constitute speech, and is it protected under the First Amendment?"
Vagueness
A law must clearly identify what conduct is prohibited, and a law can be ruled void for vagueness when it is so unclear that it fails to provide persons with reasonable notice of the activity that is prohibited.
The judge found the terms within the statute were defined imprecisely or lacked any definition, which it was argued, made the Act "unintelligible to the public, unenforceable by police and prosecutors and uninterruptable by the judiciary."
The law, as originally written was so broad that many released offender stated they were afraid to use the Internet due to the restrictions.
The court noted that the term "Chat room" was "particularly problematic, as it appears to ban an extensive array of websites--including the website for this Court."
Appeal?
Governor Jindal promised an appeal, but since the ruling, the Louisiana legislature has recently enacted amendments to the law to address the elements that were judged unconstitutional.
In 2009, a federal judge in Nebraska found parts of Nebraska's law were overbroad and unconstitutional. In June, an Indiana district court upheld a law that restricted sex offender's access to some social media sites.
Given the split of decisions, the question will most likely have to be addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court to determine what type of Internet restrictions may be allowable for released sex offenders.
Article provided by Damico & Stockstill
Visit us at www.thomasdamico.com
Ban on Sex Offenders Using Internet Ruled Unconstitutional
A Federal District Court in Louisiana found a state statute that banned sex offenders from having access to much of the internet, including the court's website, was unconstitutionally vague.
2012-08-10
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Holding on to Health Insurance During Divorce in California
2012-08-10
A decision to initiate the divorce process can depend on many factors, including a person's awareness of his or her legal rights. Depending on a couple's circumstances, complex factors may come into play that cause a spouse to worry about his or her financial independence.
The ability to retain health insurance coverage through divorce or legal separation is a common concern of family law clients. Many spouses who are covered by their husband's or wife's employer-provided medical benefits policy are naturally concerned about their options after the divorce is final.
For ...
Not All Divorces Are the Same: Fully Explore Your Options
2012-08-10
Have you and your spouse simply grown apart, amicable and courteous toward one another but no longer in love? Or, are you constantly at each other's throats, barely able to be in the same room together? Believe it or not, the answers to questions like these can steer the legal course of your divorce toward one of several alternatives.
Avoid Do-It-Yourself Divorce
If you and your former partner still get along famously, you may wonder why you need to get attorneys involved at all -- but experts strongly caution against do-it-yourself divorce. Even if you have no children ...
Improperly Guarded Machinery Can Cost Workers Life and Limb
2012-08-10
Any machinery with gears, pulleys, belts, blades, saws, chains, rollers, flywheels, spindles or other parts that rotate, reciprocate, transverse, cut, punch, shear, grind or bend run the risk of seriously injuring or killing the employees who use them. Common injuries involve crushed fingers, hands and limbs that can result in amputation. Not only do these unfortunate situations cause irreparable injuries, but also expose the employer to liability and fines.
From its 2005 annual survey, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 8,450 non-fatal amputation cases. To ...
Full Knowledge of Legal Consequences Doesn't Stop Teens From Sexting
2012-08-10
Sending a sexually explicit photo via a cell phone can have serious and long term consequences -- but that isn't stopping teens from doing it, according to new research.
A new study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that almost a third of high school students have sent sexually explicit messages using a cell phone. This represents a significant rise compared to previous studies. Out of a diverse panel of nearly 1,000 students, 28 percent reported having sent a "sext" and 31 percent said they had requested one from someone ...
Federal Study Finds Motorcycle Deaths Are Not Decreasing
2012-08-10
A recent Governors Highway Safety Administration (GHSA) report has determined that motorcycle traffic fatality rates remained stagnant between 2010 and 2011, despite a decrease in traffic fatalities for all motor vehicles. The question inspired most directly by these results is "why are fatal motorcycle accidents not decreasing?"
The GHSA study examined statistics from all states between 2010 and 2011. While some states, like Connecticut and New York experienced decreases in motorcycle accident fatalities--by 37 percent and 16 percent, respectively--others ...
Probate Attorneys Help Guide Families Through Estate Planning Process
2012-08-10
We usually don't spend much time pondering our passing. However, it is important to consider this in order to make sure our families and loved ones are taken care of after our death.
Estate planning is the process of protecting our assets and ensuring our property is distributed in the way we intend following our death. There are various types of wills and trusts that can be tailored to fit just about any situation. An experienced probate and estate planning lawyer will help your family map out an estate strategy.
What is Your Estate?
An estate basically consists ...
Young Father Awarded $20,181,484 in Damages After Undergoing 28 Surgeries for Injuries Suffered from Accident on Dangerous Roadway
2012-08-10
On the evening of March 11, 2007, Slim Zouaoui was driving home to his wife and newborn son never imagining that his life would never again be the same. As he was traveling on Route 6 in the Town of Somers, New York, Mr. Zouaoui and another vehicle encountered an icing condition on the roadway, resulting in a head-on collision that demolished both vehicles. Since the accident, Slim Zouaoui, an extremely active 32 year old IT prodigy, has seen his life irreparably altered. An ensuing lawsuit against the State of New York revealed that state officials were well aware of this ...
Take Care of Estate Planning Before Your Divorce is Final
2012-08-10
How should divorcing couples address estate planning? There are many things to do when going through a divorce, and even the most amicable couples may be tempted to put off dealing with wills, life insurance and other aspects of estate planning. However, if at all possible, don't succumb to this temptation, as anything could happen. Your children or a new spouse could be left with much less than you intended because you died before changing your estate plan.
Estate Planning Issues During and After Divorce
Here are some things you should think about as you go through ...
A Cure In Sight For Cerebral Palsy?
2012-08-10
An estimated two million Americans live with varying degrees of cerebral palsy (CP). Caused by an injury to the brain before or during birth or in the first few years of life, cerebral palsy has no known cure. There is no one course of treatment that is effective for all who have CP; each case is different. Symptoms of cerebral palsy usually present within the first two years of a child's life and can include stiff muscles and joints, an abnormal or unsteady gait and hearing or vision problems, among others.
Some medications may help loosen stiff muscles and joints. ...
Premier Surfaces Partners with The Home Depot and The Home Depot Foundation to Renovate the Home of Aimee Copeland
2012-08-10
Premier Surfaces, an Atlanta granite countertops fabricator, partnered with The Home Depot and The Home Depot Foundation to renovate the home of Aimee Copeland, the Snellville, Georgia woman who lost both hands, a leg and a foot to a flesh-eating bacteria earlier this year.
Premier Surfaces has provided custom granite countertops and a custom fireplace for the newly renovated Copeland home.
"Premier Surfaces is proud to work with The Home Depot and The Home Depot Foundation to renovate the Copeland home, making it safe and fully accessible for Aimee when she ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Making lighter work of calculating fluid and heat flow
Normalizing blood sugar can halve heart attack risk
Lowering blood sugar cuts heart attack risk in people with prediabetes
Study links genetic variants to risk of blinding eye disease in premature infants
Non-opioid ‘pain sponge’ therapy halts cartilage degeneration and relieves chronic pain
AI can pick up cultural values by mimicking how kids learn
China’s ecological redlines offer fast track to 30 x 30 global conservation goal
Invisible indoor threats: emerging household contaminants and their growing risks to human health
Adding antibody treatment to chemo boosts outcomes for children with rare cancer
Germline pathogenic variants among women without a history of breast cancer
Tanning beds triple melanoma risk, potentially causing broad DNA damage
Unique bond identified as key to viral infection speed
Indoor tanning makes youthful skin much older on a genetic level
Mouse model sheds new light on the causes and potential solutions to human GI problems linked to muscular dystrophy
The Journal of Nuclear Medicine ahead-of-print tip sheet: December 12, 2025
Smarter tools for peering into the microscopic world
Applications open for funding to conduct research in the Kinsey Institute archives
Global measure underestimates the severity of food insecurity
Child survivors of critical illness are missing out on timely follow up care
Risk-based vs annual breast cancer screening / the WISDOM randomized clinical trial
University of Toronto launches Electric Vehicle Innovation Ontario to accelerate advanced EV technologies and build Canada’s innovation advantage
Early relapse predicts poor outcomes in aggressive blood cancer
American College of Lifestyle Medicine applauds two CMS models aligned with lifestyle medicine practice and reimbursement
Clinical trial finds cannabis use not a barrier to quitting nicotine vaping
Supplemental nutrition assistance program policies and food insecurity
Switching immune cells to “night mode” could limit damage after a heart attack, study suggests
URI-based Global RIghts Project report spotlights continued troubling trends in worldwide inhumane treatment
Neutrophils are less aggressive at night, explaining why nighttime heart attacks cause less damage than daytime events
Menopausal hormone therapy may not pose breast cancer risk for women with BRCA mutations
Mobile health tool may improve quality of life for adolescent and young adult breast cancer survivors
[Press-News.org] Ban on Sex Offenders Using Internet Ruled UnconstitutionalA Federal District Court in Louisiana found a state statute that banned sex offenders from having access to much of the internet, including the court's website, was unconstitutionally vague.