“This decision was a hard-fought victory for adult industry. The Third Circuit’s decision struck down the record-keeping inspection as unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment, dealing a substantial blow to enforcement of the 2257 regulations. The decision prohibits the routine, warrantless inspections which were the hallmark of the original regulation. Under today’s ruling, the government can no longer appear at the doors of Free Speech Coalition’s members without a search warrant, and demand entry to inspect their 2257 records without cause. It is important to note that this decision only protects members of the Free Speech Coalition, the plaintiff in the case. We suggest that all adult producers make sure their membership is in good standing, and if not, to join in order to take advantage of the protections.
Diane Duke
“Of course, we entirely disagree with the court’s holding that the regulations themselves are not prohibitively burdensome to producers under the First Amendment. However, the court remanded some of the restrictions back to a lower court — including those that require business owners keep certain hours to make records available for inspection — and we’re hopeful they will be overturned. Over the next few weeks, we will be examining the decision in more detail to determine if we should appeal it en banc.”
