The Washington State Supreme Court issued a decision today ruling against the Seattle ACLU and their plaintiff’s on the Certification of the Question from the U.S. Federal Court on whether libraries must remove internet filters at the request of an adult.   The Court found that the North Central Regional Library, the largest library district in the State of Washington, did not violate Article 1, Section 5 of the Washington State Constitution with its policy of filtering the internet. (North Central Regional Library News Release, 5.6.10) http://www.ncrl.org/_blog/NCRL_News_and_Events/post/Washington_State_Supreme_Court_Opinion/

The Washington State Supreme Court today sided with the North Central Regional Library System in a lawsuit challenging its Internet filtering policy.  At issue is whether libraries should offer a way to turn off Internet filters for adults who request it. The decision split the court, 6-3. Released today, the judges’ written opinion said the library is allowed discretion in selecting appropriate materials for its collection. (The Wenatchee World Online, 5.6.10) http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/may/06/librarys-net-rules-stand-up/

The state Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday, May 6, that public libraries are not violating the state constitution by using Internet filters will have no impact on public library systems in Bellingham and Whatcom County, their directors said. “When people log on to the computers it gives them the option of employing a standard Web-based filter if they want to,” she added. “But it’s not a system-wide filter that we’ve laid on top of our system.” (The News Tribune Online [Tacoma], 5.6.10) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/06/1177134/court-ruling-on-filtering-internet.html

Public libraries’ refusal to disable content-blocking Internet filters for adult patrons does not run afoul of the state constitution, the Washington state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. “A public library can decide that it will not include pornography and other adult materials in its collection in accord with its mission and policies and, as explained, no unconstitutionality necessarily results,” wrote the majority, led by Chief Justice Barbara Madsen. “It can make the same choices about Internet access.”  (The Seattle Times, 5.6.10) http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2011796956_apuslibraryfiltersruling.html

Public libraries do not have to turn off their Internet filters for adult patrons who want to view pornography on library computers, the state Supreme Court said today. The state’s highest court said the constitutional protections of free speech weren’t violated by Internet filters at the North Central Regional Library District that blocked pornography and other materials the library determined were inappropriate.  (Spokesman Review [Spokane], 5.6.10) http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/may/06/libraries-can-filter-porn-washington-high-court-sa/

In a 6-3 ruling, the majority said libraries have discretion about which Internet content to allow, just as they decide which magazines and books to offer. Four justices in that 6-3 majority said the law did not violate First Amendment free-speech, and two others said it was allowable as long as libraries disable the filters for adult patrons who ask. (Bellingham Herald, 5.6.10) http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/05/06/1419707/wash-supreme-court-rules-internet.html

Public libraries’ use of Internet filters to block content does not run afoul of the state constitution, the Washington state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.  The case was sparked by a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington in 2006 against the five-county North Central Regional Library District in Eastern Washington. The U.S. District Court in Spokane asked the state Supreme Court to review the case. (The News Tribune Online [Tacoma], 5.7.10) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/07/1177477/web-filters-get-ok.html

Legality should not be confused with good public policy. Case in point: The seal of constitutionality the state Supreme Court granted a library district’s overzealous Internet filter on Thursday. In a 6-3 decision, the court blessed the five-county North Central Regional Library District’s blanket use of Internet filters on library computers.  (The News Tribune Online [Tacoma], 5.7.10) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/07/1177604/internet-filtering-at-public-libraries.html

Public libraries always have used broad discretion in selecting books and magazines to be offered to patrons. Clearly, decency and good taste often influence those decisions. So why can’t that same policy be applied to Internet access at public libraries? That decision to filter Internet access at public libraries was correct four years ago, and it was correct Thursday in the eyes of the state Supreme Court. Acting on a case from the five-county North Central Regional Library District (based in Wenatchee), the court ruled 6-3 that local policies to filter Internet access are not unconstitutional. (The Columbian [Vancouver], 5.7.10) http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/may/07/the-best-libraries/

The question before the Washington Supreme Court in Bradburn v. North Central Regional Library District was easy. Justices Tom Chambers and Jim Johnson agreed on that much, but little else.  Can a library block pornographic Internet sites, even for adult patrons who request them?  Chambers: “Of course it cannot.”  Johnson: “Yes.”  Their blunt disagreement demonstrates the flaw in their premise. The question was not simple. It was complex, testing how far cherished values can be stretched to protect liberty without mocking it. (Spokesman Review [Spokane], 5.8.10) http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/may/08/state-court-got-it-right-on-libraries-discretion/

[This summary of library news was created by Bobbie DeMiero and Leanna Hammond of the Washington State Library Division of the Office of the Secretary of State.  It represents a selection of newspaper clippings about Washington libraries from all Washington newspapers received in the packets on the dates shown. For more information about any of these stories, contact Carolyn Petersen at 360.570.5560 or [email protected] ]

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