In a resounding affirmation of First Amendment rights, six federal judges in three opinions in two separate cases1 have determined that there is a likelihood that the plaintiffs will prevail on the merits of their claims that portions of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 ("CDA"), Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 ("TCA"),2 are unconstitutional, setting the stage for a direct review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
On February 8, 1996, President Clinton signed the TCA into law. On the same day, the American Civil Liberties Association ("ACLU") and others filed an action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and moved for a temporary restraining order to enjoin two provisions of the CDA on First and Fifth Amendment grounds. The first provision (codified at 47 U.S.C. 223(a)(1)(B) (the "Indecency provision")) subjects to criminal penalties of imprisonment of no more than two years or a fine or both anyone who
