Re: Is anonymous speech protected?

[Michael Froomkin - U.Miami School of Law]

For an only slighted dated summary on mask laws  see
http://www.law.miami.edu/~froomkin/articles/clipper1.htm#ToC54

For a discussion of anonymity laws see
http://www.law.miami.edu/~froomkin/articles/ocean.htm

And yes, it's a real case, decided as you heard, but I don't have the
citation handy.


On Mon, 17 May 1999, Dave Del Torto wrote:

> Forgive me for lacking further specifics just now, but an anonymous 
> lawyer friend tells me that the May 11, 1999 edition of the "San 
> Francisco Daily Journal" reported that a federal district judge 
> declared a (n unspecified) city's ordinance --forbidding the wearing 
> of masks, hoods or any device in public to conceal one's identity 
> (except for religious, safety or medical reasons)-- as being 
> *unconstitutional* (!).
> 
> The city in question, according to this (so far) hearsay evidence, 
> was trying to discourage a Ku Klux Klan rally. The KKK claimed itself 
> a "religion" and that the hoods protect its members from retaliation 
> (how deliciously ironic). The court agreed that the mask ban was an 
> unconstitutional violation of the Klansmen's right to free speech and 
> to anonymous association in public.
> 
> Wow! First the Bernstein decision, and now this? Wait, someone pinch 
> me... I think I'm dreaming about the country I hope I live in, and 
> not the one I wake up to every day... Imagine: if both judgements 
> hold, anonymous posting of crypto source code will be 
> constitutionally protected (as it should be).
> 
> First Question: does anyone know which City is involved and/or where 
> the Judge's decision can be found? I'm afraid I don't have any more 
> info than what I've mentioned here, no date, no case name, etc.
> 
> Second Question: can anyone cite/remember any other federal court 
> decision that protects one's right to remain anonymous (other than 
> those protecting victims or people in federal witness protection 
> programs, etc)?
> 
> If true, this case may have fascinating implications for 
> internet-based forms of anonymous association such as using ZKS' 
> Freedom.Net service.
> 
>     dave
> 
> 
> 

-- 
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