Judge Stays Portion of Proposition 35

SAN FRANCISCO—The ACLU of Northern California and the Electronic Frontier Foundation won an initial court victory yesterday when a federal judge agreed to temporarily halt enforcement of a part of Proposition 35, the so-called human trafficking state initiative that was passed by voters Tuesday. The Daily News reported today that the two legal watchdogs "sued in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on behalf of sex offenders. They argue the requirement restricts offenders' First Amendment right to free speech and their due process and equal protection rights under the Fourteenth Amendment," and that the judge's ruling today "temporarily halts a provision of Proposition 35 that requires registered sex offenders to give authorities a list of their Internet providers and screen names." As AVN has reported, the narrowly tailored lawsuit does not address other provisions of the measure, including one that could seriously impact adult producers if an underage performer were to get onto a set by show fraudulently obtained legal government issued identification. Unlike child pornography laws, which contain an affirmative defense in such cases, Proposition 35 does not. The judge did note in his ruling yesterday that agreeing to a temporary stay won't create any risk because the state will not be able to enforce the provisions until March anyway.