Home > Great American Court Cases > Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union

Legal Citation: 512 U.S. 844 (1997)

Petitioner
Janet Reno, U.S. Attorney General

Respondent
American Civil Liberties Union

Petitioner's Claim
A federal district court erred in finding two provisions of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
Seth P. Waxman

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Bruce J. Ennis

Justices for the Court
Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony M. Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens (writing for the Court), David H. Souter, Clarence Thomas

Justices Dissenting
Sandra Day O'Connor, William H. Rehnquist

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
26 June 1997

Decision
The provisions of the Communications Decency Act prohibiting indecent transmissions and patently...