(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray today was handed a favorable decision by the Ohio Supreme Court in a case involving a law that would protect children from receiving obscene material online.

“This law is an important tool for local law enforcement’s ongoing efforts to combat sexual predators’ use of the Internet and other electronic communications to prey on our young people,” said Attorney General Cordray. “I am pleased that the Ohio Supreme Court agreed with our reading of the statute, and I believe that our understanding of the law means that it is constitutional.”

At issue in the case was an Ohio law prohibiting adults from sending material defined as “harmful to juveniles” — such as pornography — directly to minors by electronic means. A group of online publishers challenged the law in federal court, arguing that the law violated their free speech rights under the First Amendment.

The Ohio Supreme Court’s opinion was issued today in response to questions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati. Defending the law in the federal court, the Attorney General had previously argued that the law is constitutional because it does not sweep as broadly as the online publishers claim.

The Court of Appeals asked the Ohio Supreme Court to determine whether the Attorney General’s reading of the statute was correct. The federal court noted that the Ohio Supreme Court’s guidance would help resolve whether the publishers have standing to challenge the Ohio statute and whether the law affects any protected free speech rights.

The Ohio Supreme Court unanimously agreed with the Attorney General’s position. The court confirmed the Attorney General’s position that the statute covers only “electronic communications that can be personally directed” — such as e-mail, text messages and instant messages — and that “a person who posts matter harmful to juveniles on generally accessible websites and in public chat rooms does not violate” the statute.

The case will now return to the federal appeals court, which will use the Ohio Supreme Court’s authoritative interpretation of the Ohio law to answer the remaining questions of standing and constitutionality.

To read today’s decision in this case (American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression v. Cordray) in full, visit www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/BooksellersOhioSupremeCourt.

Media Contacts:

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