First Amendment Library

United States v. American Library Association, Inc. (2003) [Findlaw]
Argument Date	03/05/2003
Decided	6/23/2003
Supreme Court Vote	6-3

Issue	Whether the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) induces public libraries to violate the 1st Amendment, thereby exceeding Congress's power under the Spending Clause by providing that a library that is otherwise eligible for special federal assistance for Internet access in the form of discount rates for educational purposes under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. 254(h), or grants under the Library Services and Technology Act, 20 U.S.C. 9121 et seq., may not receive that assistance unless the library has in place a policy that includes the operation of a “technology protection measure” on Internet-connected computers that protects against access by all persons to “visual depictions” that are “obscene” or “child pornography,” and that protects against access by minors to “visual depictions” that are “harmful to minors,” a condition of the receipt of federal funding.

Majority Opinion

Rehnquist, C.J. (plurality)

Concurring Opinion

Breyer, J., Kennedy, J.

Dissenting Opinion

Stevens, J., Souter, J.

Certiorari Granted

11/12/2002

Lower Court

Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Lower Court Ruling

In American Library Association v. U.S. (2002), the Federal District Court sustained the First Amendment claim.