Three important First Amendment decisions

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued three important First Amendment cases this week, at least one of which I will discuss further this week.

ACLU v. Mukasey (PDF): Holding that the Child Online Protection Act facially violates the First and Fifth Amendments. The trial on the constitutionality of COPA in 2006 was a fascinating episode in the annals of First Amendment history- check out Nerve.com's blog of the trial. Mark Regazza Marc Randazza has a (highly opinionated as always) rundown of the decision at the Legal Satyricon.

CBS v. FCC (PDF): Holding that the FCC's abrupt rule change, used to fine CBS for its Super Bowel Bowl "wardrobe malfunction" was arbitrary and capricious because it treated fleeting 'indecent' images in live broadcasts more harshly than fleeting verbal expletives.

U.S. v. Stevens: (PDF): Striking down a federal law criminalizing the sale of depictions of animal cruelty, and voiding the conviction of a distributor of dog-fight videos. The Government unsuccessfully defended this law as closely analogous to laws against child pornography.