PHILADELPHIA—The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has set December 9, 2014 as the date it will hear arguments regarding the appeal, which was requested by both the plaintiffs and the defendant, of Judge Michael M. Baylson's ruling in the 2257 case, Free Speech Coalition, et al. v. Attorney General of the United States.
"Ours is the only argument scheduled for that day, probably because it's going to be returned to the same panel that heard the first appeal," said Lorraine Baumgardner, co-counsel with J. Michael Murray for the plaintiffs. "We've been allotted 20 minutes per side, but during our last argument before them, I think they did allow us to go over somewhat."
Indeed; the three-judge panel that will hear this appeal is the same one that heard the plaintiffs' appeal from Judge Baylson's original dismissal of the Free Speech plaintiffs' case: Judges Marjorie O. Rendell, JD—her degree is from the prestigious Villanova University School of Law, and she's the wife of former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell; D. Brooks Smith, a George W. Bush appointee, nominated to the appellate bench the day before 9/11/01; and Anthony Joseph Scirica, a former representative to the Pennsylvania General Assembly—and they did allow each side an extra ten minutes of argument on the original appeal.
The panel's decision overturned Judge Baylson's dismissal of the case, and ordered that a trial be held to develop a factual record related to the plaintiffs' First and Fourth Amendment claims. That trial took place in early June, 2013, with AVN providing extensive coverage of each day's proceedings. (The first day's coverage can be found here; for other days, search AVN.com for "2257.")
"What happens in the Third Circuit is, normally, it's just randomly put into the hopper and scheduled as all arguments are, unless the panel has ordered that any subsequent appeal be returned to it, and this panel did that," Baumgardner said. "They're familiar with the case, and it's the only argument scheduled for that afternoon, at 2 p.m."
The case is of monumenal importance to the adult content industry, as well as the millions of Skypers, texters and amateur photographers who have created or will create sexually explicit images and/or videos of themselves or others, because the law as it currently stands requires extensive recordkeeping by such creators, not to mention that they be available for records inspections at least 20 hours per week for seven years, with prison terms possible for those who fail to comply with the letter of the law.
Donations to defray the costs associated with this case may be made to Free Speech Coalition, PO Box 10480, Canoga Park, CA 91309.
