Managing Partner Ronald Shechtman Comments on Spam Laws and First Amendment Rights in E-Commerce Times
The September 12, 2008 edition of E-Commerce Times featured an article by Ericka Morphy entitled “Virginia SC Scuttles Spam Law.” In the article, Morphy reported that “The Virginia Supreme Court has declared the state's antispam law unconstitutional, turning loose a notorious spammer who had been sentenced to nine years in prison for violating it. The law did not distinguish sufficiently between protected and unprotected speech, the Court found.”
Pryor Cashman Managing Partner Ronald Shechtman was interviewed for the article and told Morphy that the decision is a lesson for legislatures crafting laws that might touch upon the First Amendment. “It is a reminder that courts hold [lawmakers] to a requirement that any limitation on speech must be drawn in the most narrow fashion possible to meet a legitimate need.”
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