DENVER, CO – Members of the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) can breathe a little easier today after it was announced that a stipulation barring inspections or prosecutions of FSC members under Title 18 U.S.C. Section 2257 and its associated regulations has been extended for 30 days, or until a ruling is issued on the FSC’s motion for a preliminary injunction, whichever comes first. The original stipulation was set to expire Thursday, but the extension grants more time for Denver-based U.S. Judge Walker D. Miller to rule on the FSC’s request for a preliminary injunction.“Our legal team is the best in the country,” said FSC Executive Director Michelle L. Freridge, “and we have every expectation of a positive ruling by Judge Miller regarding the imminent motion. But we all have to remember that we are just at the beginning of a complicated case that could continue on for another year, during which time we will need the ongoing support of our members and the industry as we build on the successes we have achieved thus far.”

A preliminary injunction hearing was held on August 4th in Denver, but no ruling has yet been issued from that proceeding. The FSC has been cautiously optimistic that the Denver hearings will result in the requested preliminary injunction, but until such a ruling is in fact issued, it is the stipulation agreement that protects FSC members from possible inspections or prosecutions.

“We are fortunate to have a very good, very careful judge, who is going to carefully consider the arguments,” said attorney Greg Piccionelli earlier in the month.

Judge Miller is not obligated to issue a decision before the original stipulation expires, so the extension of the stipulation is an important development for FSC members.

Under the rules of the stipulation, the government has agreed not to prosecute or inspect those members of the Free Speech Coalition whose names were submitted by the deadline of June 30th to retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce D. Pringle, appointed “special master” in the case. Pringle has acted as a keeper of the list, and the government has agreed, while the stipulation is in place, to check names against the list before initiating any 2257 inspections or prosecutions. Those individuals and businesses included in the June 30th FSC membership list will remain protected under the new extension.

While many have speculated that the government would be unlikely to bring 2257 charges against any individuals or companies, even those who are not members of the FSC, until the legal challenge was resolved, the DOJ nevertheless announced on August 25th the first ever federal 2257 charges against an alleged spammer who, according to a DOJ press release, failed to place the proper 2257 statement on a qualifying website. The defendant is looking at a possibility of 2 years in prison for the alleged omission.

“This is the first 2257 record-keeping or labeling charge in the history of America,” Free Speech Coalition Chairman and criminal defense attorney Jeffrey Douglas told YNOT after the indictments were announced. He said that the timing of the charges was interesting.

Title 18 U.S.C. Section 2257 calls for companies that produce depictions of actual sexually explicit conduct to keep records that prove all participants in said content are legal adults. In May, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales signed new regulations that, amongst other things, extended 2257 record-keeping requirements to “secondary” producers and well as “primary” producers; most adult website operators fall under the “secondary” producer category. The adult industry has argued that the 2257 requirements are excessively burdensome and overly harsh; a simple paperwork mistake can result in 5 years in federal prison for a first offense, and 10 years in prison for a subsequent offense. Some have argued that the 2257 requirements, which have been on the books for years with no attempts at enforcement until just this month, are designed not to protect children but rather to harass the adult entertainment industry and produce a chilling effect on protected First Amendment speech.

The Free Speech Coalition is challenging both the new regulations and the original 2257 law on behalf of the adult entertainment industry.

For more information about the Free Speech Coalition, please visit www.freespeechcoalition.com.