A freedom-of-speech lawsuit against the state of Pennsylvania and two county district attorneys would be frozen by a federal judge if two Bucks County prosecutors have their way.
Omni Telecom and parent company Voicenet Communications sued last winter when computer servers subscribers used for picture-browsing on Usenet were seized in a raid. Company attorneys have accused prosecutors of abusing a federal and a state law that usually protects ISPs from liability if their systems are used to send child porn without their knowing it, according to a published report.
Last week, Bucks County prosecutors stalled an expected ruling by U.S. District Judge Mary McLaughlin, by way of a letter saying a grand jury was convened in the case and asking all rulings in the civil case be stopped until that grand jury probe was finished, the report added.
Voicenet/Omni attorneys say prosecutors are running an improper and vindictive charade with the grand jury move. "This court cannot countenance, let alone reward [the prosecutors] for improperly manipulating the county investigating grand jury for [their] own purposes," according to a recent court filing by the company.
