TALLAHASSEE | An appellate court has struck down a Florida law prohibiting electronic communication by criminal gangs, but it upheld another statute that makes it a felony to recruit new gang members if they must commit a crime to join.
A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled Friday that the electronic-communication ban violates due process and First Amendment free-speech-and-association rights because it applies even to messages concerning non-criminal gang activities.
The statute aimed to prohibit gang members from posting audio, video or still images on the Internet or other electronic communication to intimidate or harass others or to advertise a gang's presence in the community.
The recruitment law passed constitutional muster because it applies only if criminal activity is a condition of membership. The communication law lacks that limitation.
The state's interest in controlling gangs' criminal and delinquent acts is a compelling one, but the government cannot effect its purposes in a provision that criminalizes innocent conduct, District Judge Stephanie Ray wrote for the panel.
The unanimous opinion upheld Naymontie Nashare Enoch's conviction and three-year prison sentence followed by two years of probation for violating the recruitment law in Alachua County three years ago.
The ruling, though, reversed Enoch's conviction and sentence of five years of probation under the communication statute.
Enoch pleaded no contest to both counts. But he reserved his right to appeal Circuit Judge Mark Moseley's refusal to dismiss the charges on constitutional grounds.
Original Article Can Be Found At:
http://www.theledger.com/article/20120727/POLITICS/120729367?tc=ar
No comments:
Post a Comment