According to the New York Times on February 25th, The Supreme Court is now deciding whether North Carolina law, which forbids the sex offenders from using commercial social networking sites where they can gather information about minors, goes way too far.
This lawsuit is sparked by Packingham’s post on Facebook to celebrate the dismissal of his pending ticket in 2010.
“No fine, no court cost, no nothing spent……Praise be to GOD, WOW! Thanks, JESUS!”
Photo courtesy of Durham County Clerk of Superior Court
Lester Packingham Jr. is a registered sex offender who served ten months in prison due to indecent liberties with a minor when he was 21. A 2008 North Carolina law forbade him from using commercial social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter that he can gather information about minors.
This time, his good fortune in traffic court didn’t help him in Durham. A Durham police officer found that he used an alias rather than his real name. He was prosecuted, convicted of a felony and received a suspended prison sentence.
Although the North Carolina law was meant to protect the young people from sexual predators, dissenting justices argued this law violates the Constitution’s free-speech protections.
The objector of the law claimed that the law goes further that makes registered sex offenders illegal to say anything about any subject on social media where is central to Americans’ daily life. And it would unconstitutionally outlaw them looking for a job, reading news on New York Times or daily musings of the president.
However, the law’s defender claimed that the law didn’t regulate what sex offenders say, just the time, place and manner of their speech. Also, Louisiana Deputy Solicitor General Colin A. Clark emphasized that the law doesn’t ban offenders from using the internet, just certain social media sites like Facebook.
The debate is still continuing…
Supreme Court Weighs Law Banning Sex Offenders From Facebook (2017). The New York Times.Retrieved From https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/02/25/us/ap-us-sex-offenders-facebook-ban-.html