The First Amendment Center, which already praised retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens as a “friend of the First Amendment,” today offered the top ten cases related to such freedoms that occurred during his lengthy time on the court.

Number One? Reno vs. ACLU, 1997

“In 1996, Congress hastily passed an amendment to a large telecommunications bill called the Communications Decency Act. Two provisions criminalized online transmission of 'indecent' and 'patently offensive' speech. The law did not define 'indecent' speech, and undoubtedly impinged on a great deal of protected speech for adults and older minors,” the FAC stated. “Stevens' opinion invalidated these two provisions, finding them both too broad and vague to withstand constitutional review. Even more significantly, Stevens rejected the idea that the Internet was subject to greater government regulation than printed media. The government had argued that the Internet should be treated like the broadcast medium, which the Court had given less protection than print. Ironically, it was Stevens in FCC v. Pacifica (1978) years earlier who had endorsed this approach. But this time he wrote an opinion that acknowledged the diversity and value of this revolutionary new medium. The late attorney Bruce Ennis did not exaggerate when he wrote that Stevens' decision gave the Internet its 'legal birth certificate.'”

See the rest of the list HERE.