Posted by Eugene Volokh: Does Ohio Ban on Disseminating "Harmful to Juveniles" Material to Juveniles http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_03_15-2009_03_21.shtml#1237498121
apply only to "personally directed devices" aimed at particular juveniles, for instance "instant messaging ... or person-to-person e-mail," or does it also cover at least some Web material that can be read by juveniles? [1]The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit just asked the Ohio Supreme Court to interpret the Ohio statute, so the Sixth Circuit can then determine whether the statute violates the First Amendment. (State supreme courts are considered the final expositors of the meaning -- as opposed to the constitutionality -- of state statutes, so federal courts will sometimes certify such interpretive questions to state courts.) The statute is indeed pretty complex, and in my experience fairly unusual. If you want to comment about the case, you might want to read it carefully; it's on pp. 3 and 4 of the linked-to opinion. Thanks to [2]How Appealing for the pointer. References 1. http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/09a0108p-06.pdf 2. http://howappealing.law.com/ _______________________________________________ Volokh mailing list [email protected] http://lists.powerblogs.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volokh
