[OPLINLIST] FW: [ftrf-l] New Jersey Supreme Court decision in State v. Reid

[Kent Oliver]

FYI, Kent
Kent Oliver, Executive Director
Stark County District Library
715 Market Ave., N., Canton, OH 44702
W: 330 458 2710 FAX: 330 455 9596
KOliver at starklibrary.org<mailto:KOliver at starklibrary.org>
"[L]ibraries in the United States can contribute to a future that values and protects freedom of speech in a world that celebrates both our similarities and our differences, respects individuals and their beliefs, and holds all persons truly equal and free."-Libraries: An American Value<http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/lib_val.html>

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-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathan Kelley [mailto:jokelley at ala.org]
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 11:15 AM
To: ftrf-l at ala.org
Subject: [ftrf-l] New Jersey Supreme Court decision in State v. Reid

Dear FTRF Trustees and Liaisons:

Below is a note from Grayson Barber, who was the attorney who drafted FTRF and NJLA's amicus brief in State of New Jersey v. Reid.  The state Supreme Court issued a favorable ruling in the case yesterday.


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Congratulations to the FTRF Board for its role in establishing a reasonable expectation of privacy in cyberspace. FTRF participated as a "friend of the court" in a case before the Supreme Court of New Jersey, which issued its ruling on April 21, 2008. The court held there is a reasonable expectation of privacy for anonymous internet use. The decision in State v. Reid is available at http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/opinions/index.htm
FTRF and the New Jersey Library Association signed an amicus brief (available here<http://epic.org/privacy/nj_reid/amicus_reid.pdf>) because the case bore parallels to the experience of public libraries in New Jersey. Police often want to identify customers who use computers in the library. Librarians are required by law to ask the police for a "subpoena issued by a court," before disclosing personal information. Unfortunately, some police fell into a practice of using defective subpoenas.
In State v. Reid, the police approached Comcast with a defective subpoena to identify a criminal suspect. The state Supreme Court threw out the subpoena because it violated the reasonable expectation of privacy under the state constitution.
Like Comcast, public libraries are Internet Service Providers. But libraries have a higher duty of care to their customers, under the library confidentiality statute. Police may use grand jury subpoena to get information from Comcast, but New Jersey librarians must ask for a "subpoena issued by a court."
The State v. Reid opinion does not discuss the library confidentiality statute, but it does strengthen the right to read anonymously and to use the internet without surveillance. Moreover, it suggests that limits on government power do apply in cyberspace.
The fight for intellectual freedom continues. Kindly accept my expression of thanks for FTRF's valuable and much appreciated help in this battle.
Grayson Barber

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