| Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued November 28, 2001 Decided May 13, 2002 | |
| Full case name | John Ashcroft, Attorney General v. American Civil Liberties Union, et al. |
| Citations | 535 U.S. 564 (more) 122 S. Ct. 1700; 152 L. Ed. 2d 771; 70 U.S.L.W. 4381; 30 Media L. Rep. 1801; 2002 Cal. Daily Op. Service 4057; 2002 Daily Journal DAR 5183; 15 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 256 |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Case history | |
| Prior | American Civil Liberties Union v. Reno, 31 F. Supp. 2d 473 (E.D. Pa. 1999); affirmed, 217 F.3d 162 (3d Cir. 2000); cert. granted, 532 U.S. 1037 (2001). |
| Subsequent | On remand, American Civil Liberties Union v. Ashcroft, 322 F.3d 240 (3d Cir. 2003); affirmed, 542 U.S. 656 (2004). |
| Holding | |
| The Child Online Protection Act's reliance on community standards to identify what material "is harmful to minors" may make the statute unconstitutional, but community standards need further definition. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Thomas, joined by Rehnquist, Scalia, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer |
| Dissent | Stevens |
| Laws applied | |
| Child Online Protection Act; U.S. Const. amend. I | |
Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union, 535 U.S. 564 (2002), followed by 542 U.S. 656 (2004), was a decision of the United States Supreme Court, ruling that the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) was unconstitutional as a violation of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech.[1]