American Civil Liberties Union v. Miller - Significance, Legal Action Created Politically Diverse Group Of Plaintiffs, Jurisdiction A Question Of Precedent, A Question Of First Amendment Rights

georgia aclu association org

Plaintiffs

American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia (ACLU), The AIDS Survival Project, The Atlanta Free Thought Society, Atlanta Veterans Alliance, Community ConneXion, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Electronic Frontiers Georgia, Representative Mitchell Kaye, Ken Leebow, Bruce Mirken, Bonnie L. Nadri, Josh Riley, John Troyer, and Jonathan Wallace

Defendants

Zell Miller, Governor of Georgia, and Michael Bowers, Georgia State Attorney General

Plaintiffs' Claim

That Georgia's Computer Systems Protection Act is vague and overbroad violating the First and Fourteenth amendments' rights to free expression and association, the Fifth Amendment's right to privacy, and the Commerce Clause.

Chief Lawyer for Plaintiffs

Ann Beeson

Chief Defense Lawyer

David A. Runion

Judge

Marvin H. Shoob

Place

Atlanta, Georgia

Date of Decision

7 August 1997

Decision

Ruled in favor of the ACLU and granted a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the Georgia Interstate Fraud Statute.

Related Cases

Virginia v. American Booksellers Association, 484 U.S. 383 (1988).
American Libraries Association v. Pataki, 969 F.Supp. 160 (1997).
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 512 U.S. 844 (1997).

Sources

Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights: Intellectual Property in a Global EconomyCongressional Digest, vol. 75. Washington, DC: Congressional Digest Corp., December 1996.

Additional Topics

American Civil Liberties Union v. Miller - Significance

The ruling posed a wide impact on the way legislators could craft laws regulating the Internet. The decision upheld the right of constitutionally-protected free speech over the Internet and, in doing so, this judgment carried important implications. Pointing out that similar restrictions were not applied to print publications, the court underscored both the inappropriateness of such censorship and…

American Civil Liberties Union v. Miller - Legal Action Created Politically Diverse Group Of Plaintiffs

Among those objecting to Georgia's legislation were the ACLU, Electronic Frontiers Georgia, Electronic Founders Foundations, as well as politically conservative Georgia State Representative, Mitchell Kaye. The diversity of co-plaintiffs was highlighted by the participation of the Atlanta Veterans Alliance--a Georgia-based organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered veterans. Althoug…

American Civil Liberties Union v. Miller - Jurisdiction A Question Of Precedent

In issuing his decision, Judge Shoob, first needed to establish whether it was appropriate for the U.S. District Court to make a ruling. In that regard, Shoob pointed out that in cases addressing First Amendment issues, the rules of standing are relaxed, especially if citizens might engage in self-censorship under threat of potential prosecution. Quoting from Virginia v. American Booksellers Assoc…

American Civil Liberties Union v. Miller - A Question Of First Amendment Rights

As written, the overly-broad wording of the act did not only apply to people who misappropriated the identity of another person. The ACLU argued persuasively that the statute prohibited protected free speech such as the use of a pseudonym for protection from discrimination, harassment, or invasion of privacy. Moreover, under the Federal Trademark Dilution Act, Congress provided for the non-commerc…

American Civil Liberties Union v. Miller - Impact

The court ruling in essence established a right to communicate on the Internet and underscored the complexity of balancing trademark rights and freedom of speech. While Judge Shoob narrowed his ruling to specifically focus on the protection of the Internet under First Amendment free speech rights, his ruling had the effect of stemming the rush among state legislatures in the United States to regul…

American Civil Liberties Union v. Miller - Should Copyright Law Apply To The Internet?

Copyrights protect the original creative expression of authors, movie makers, and songwriters. Copyrights give authors exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute their work for financial gain. However, an estimated $2 billion in royalty fees were lost in 1997 through internet transmissions. Should copyright laws apply to this new electronic international medium? Most agree they should, but the d…

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