[2J[1m[37;41mĿ[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mFrom: ACLU.Newsfeed-Owner@villa.fc.net                                       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m----------------------------------------------------------------             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m04-12-96                                                                     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mACLU Newsfeed -- ACLU News Releases Direct to YOU                            [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m----------------------------------------------------------------             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mTODAY'S NEWS:                                                                [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m* ACLU v. RENO: TRIAL UPDATE: Government Opens Case in Internet Trial        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m* New Utah Bill Seeks to Kill Gay Clubs                                      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m----------------------------------------------------------------             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m     *ACLU v. RENO: TRIAL UPDATE: Government Opens Case in Internet Trial*   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m*  1st Government Witness Acknowledges Difficulty in Finding Sexually        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mExplicit Material Online                                                     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m*  2nd Government Witness Returns Monday to Conclude Testimony               [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m*  Plaintiffs have option to rebut government case Monday                    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mPHILADELPHIA -- Testifying for the government today, Special Agent Howard A. [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mSchmidt acknowledged, in answer to skeptical questioning by a three-judge    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mpanel, that it is "highly unlikely" for anyone to come across sexually       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mexplicit sites on the Internet by accident.                                  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mAs the first witness for the government, Agent Schmidt began the morning with[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41ma live Internet tour and demonstration of a search for so-called indecency.  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m The demonstration stopped short of actually displaying any of the images,   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mbut traced for the court the route by which Schmidt arrived at various web   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41msites.                                                                       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mSchmidt acknowledged -- under cross-examination -- that majority of the sites[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mhe found would have been off limits had he been running a software program   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41msuch as SurfWatch, that blocks access to Internet sites considered           [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41minappropriate for children.                                                  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mMarjorie Heins, who conducted cross-examination for the ACLU, noted that     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mAgent Schmidt's expertise -- and the government's case -- lies in focusing on[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41ma very narrow category of sexual material, much of which is already covered  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mby existing obscenity law.                                                   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m"In today's testimony, the government attempted to divert the court's        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mattention from the serious concerns of our plaintiffs by focusing on material[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthat is highly inflammatory and largely irrelevant to this case," Heins said.[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mThe consolidated cases of ACLU v. Reno and ALA v. DOJ challenge provisions of[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe Communications Decency Act that criminalize making available to minors   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m"indecent" or "patently offensive" speech.                                   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mUnder questioning by the judges, Agent Schmidt was asked how he would enforce[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe censorship law when confronted with a safe-sex information web-site that [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mdisplayed an image illustrating how to put a condom on an erect penis.       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mAgent Schmidt said that since the context was "educational, not purely for   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mpleasure purposes," he would not censor the site but advise the publishers to[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mpost warnings.                                                               [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mHis answer was different when asked how he would rate an online copy of the  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mcontroversial Vanity Fair magazine cover featuring the actress Demi Moore,   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mnearly naked and eight months pregnant.                                      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mIn that case, Schmidt said, the Communications Decency Act would apply       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mbecause the image was "for fun."  He also said, in answer to a query from    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mJudge Stuart Dalzell, that the community standard as to the offensive of the [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mimage might be different for Minnesota than it would for New York.           [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m"It is ironic that, according to the government, an explicit online image of [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41man erect penis in an educational context would be acceptable, whereas Vanity [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mFair, a constitutionally protected publication containing a much less        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mexplicit image, would be censored," Heins said.                              [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mFollowing Agent Schmidt's testimony, the final plaintiff witness, Dr. Albert [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mVezza, told the judges about PICS (Platform for Internet Content Selection), [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41ma new rating system designed to allow parents to control children's access to[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe Internet without censorship.                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mDr. Vezza is associate director of the MIT Laboratory for Computer Sciences  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mand has chief responsibility for the PICS project.  He was unable to testify [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mearlier in the case due to scheduling conflicts.                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mDr. Vezza said he expected that wide industry acceptance of the PICS standard[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mwould enable any number of "third-party" organizations such as the PTA, the  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mChristian Coalition or the Boy Scouts of America to rate content for Internet[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41musers.                                                                       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mThe second and final government witness, Dr. Dan Olsen, a professor of       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mcomputer science at Brigham Young University, took the stand in the          [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mmid-afternoon.                                                               [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mDr. Olsen acknowledged that the PICS standard would allow parents to control [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mtheir children's Internet viewing according to their own values or via a     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mrating system devised by a trusted organization.                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mHe also acknowledged that a system he had conceived in which Internet sites  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mmust be labelled by the content originator, would not allow for such an      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mindependent rating scheme.                                                   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mWhile plaintiff lawyers completed cross-examination of Dr. Olsen today, he   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mwill return on Monday for redirect by government lawyers and to answer any   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mquestions the judges may have.                                               [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mIt is now anticipated that Monday, April 15, will be the last day of trial in[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mACLU v Reno.  Plaintiff lawyers will have the opportunity on Monday (instead [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mof April 26) to call witnesses to rebut the governments's testimony.         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m However, the ACLU and ALA coalitions did not indicate which witnesses, if   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41many they would call.                                                         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mBecause the April 26 rebuttal day is no longer necessary, the next date in   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mcourt is set for June 3, when the three-judge panel will hear oral arguments [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mfrom both plaintiffs and defendants.                                         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mThe judges are expected to issue a ruling some time in the weeks following.  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m Under expedited provisions, any appeal on rulings regarding the new         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mcensorship law will be made directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.              [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mLawyers for the ACLU appearing before the judges are Christopher Hansen,     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mMarjorie Heins, Ann Beeson, and Stefan Presser, legal director of the ACLU of[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mPennsylvania.                                                                [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m----------------------------------------------------------------             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                       *New Utah Bill Seeks to Kill Gay Clubs*               [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mUtah lawmakers have reached a compromise on legislation aimed at restricting [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mgay student clubs at Utah high schools while allowing the Salt Lake City     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mSchool District to lift its blanket ban on all extracurricular clubs, the    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mSalt Lake City Tribune reported.                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mPassage of the new proposal is on the agenda of next Wednesday's special     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41msession of the Legislature.  The old proposal, which would have forbidden    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mteachers from condoning or promoting "illegal activity," has been replaced by[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mlanguage that targets "criminal behavior" -- a change supporters hope will   [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41malleviate concerns that the measure might trample free speech rights and     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m interfere with acts of civil disobedience in teachers' private lives.       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mAnd after lengthy talks with lawyers and school officials, the governor and  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mkey lawmakers have agreed to add new provisions that would allow school      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mdistricts to ban student clubs that promote "bigotry, encourage criminal     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mbehavior or involve human sexuality."                                        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mLeavitt said that would extend to heterosexual as well as lesbian and gay    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mclubs.    Doug Bates, attorney for the state Office of Education, said if the[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mnew law is enacted, he was all but certain the Salt Lake School District     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mwould move to lift its February ban on all student clubs and replace it with [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41ma ban on gay clubs.                                                          [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mBut that move would tantamount to discrimination, said a student closely     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41minvolved with the East High School Gay-Straight Alliance, which sparked much [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mof the current controversy when Salt Lake City school board officials voted  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41min February to ban all student clubs rather than allow their group to form.  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m"It's an unfair denial of student's rights to life, liberty and happiness,"  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41msaid Kelli Peterson, the club's founder.  "We do not talk about having sex.  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m We do not promote bigotry.  We promote acceptance."                         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mAt issue is the applicability of the federal Equal Access Act of 1984, backed[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mat the time by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and originally drafted to give      [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mBible-study groups access to school facilities for extracurricular           [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mactivities.                                                                  [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mThe Utah Attorney General's Office and the state Office of Education         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mofficially have opined that under the law, school districts have no basis for[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mforbidding specific clubs, unless they engage in illegal activities.         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mCarol Gnade, director of the Utah chapter of the American Civil Liberties    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mUnion, said that the latest version of bill "flies in the face of the        [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mequal-access law" and is certain to be challenged in court.   "This is no    [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mbetter than the original version and probably worse," Gnade told the Tribune.[1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m----------------------------------------------------------------             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mONLINE RESOURCES FROM THE ACLU NATIONAL OFFICE                               [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m----------------------------------------------------------------             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mACLU Freedom Network Web Page:  http://www.aclu.org.                         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mAmerica Online users should check out our live chats, auditorium events,     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m*very* active message boards, and complete news on civil liberties, at       [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mkeyword ACLU.                                                                [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m----------------------------------------------------------------             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mACLU Newsfeed                                                                [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mAmerican Civil Liberties Union National Office                               [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m132 West 43rd Street                                                         [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mNew York, New York 10036                                                     [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mTo subscribe to the ACLU Newsfeed, send a message to majordomo@aclu.org with [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m"subscribe News" in the body of the message.  To terminate your subscription,[1m[37;41m[40m
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[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mthe message.                                                                 [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41m                                                                             [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;41mFor general information about the ACLU, write to info@aclu.org.              [1m[37;41m[40m
[1m[37;41m[1m[37;40m
