Via press release (thanks to Carolyn Caywood for the head’s up)
On February 17, 2015, Freedom to Read Foundation filed an amicus brief in this case challenging the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s “Revictimization Relief Act.” That law, passed in October 2014, permits crime victims to sue offenders to stop actions – including speech – that cause “mental anguish” to their victims. Supporters of the law were motivated by a recent recorded graduation address for Vermont’s Goddard College by Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of the 1981 murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner. FTRF submitted a memo in opposition to the bill prior to its passage, and sent a letter to Governor Tom Corbett opposing the law prior to his signature.
On January 8, 2015, the ACLU of Pennsylvania filed suit on behalf of several media outlets and former prisoners to challenge the law. On February 26, a motion for preliminary injunction was argued in federal district court.
FTRF’s brief was written by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and also joined by American Booksellers for Freedom of Expression and Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.
On April 28, 2015, a federal judge struck down the law as “manifestly unconstitutional.” The bill’s sponsor has indicated he will ask the Pennsylvania Attorney General to appeal and, failing that, will draft a new law.
