Joseph P. Shea, the online editor who is challenging the constitutionality of the Communications Decency Act, has asked the Supreme Court to combine his suit with that of the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Library Association, Wired magazine, and others.
But plaintiffs in the ACLU case argue that Shea would be more prudent to keep his case separate.
"It makes more sense for him to wait," said Jonah Seiger, a policy analyst at the Center of Democracy and Technology, another plaintiff in the CDA case. "Our coalition is as diverse as it can be" with civil rights organizations and media outlets in the mix.
Seiger said that if the Supreme Court were to rule against the first case, those fighting for online free speech would have a second shot at having the CDA declared unconstitutional with Shea's case.
"They don't want to share the spotlight with the little guys," Shea said in a press release, referring to the plaintiffs in the ACLU case. "But the little guys are the people who are publishing thousands of newspapers and magazines on the Internet. Only a decision on the arguments raised in our case will protect those rights with certainty."
Shea emphasized in his online magazine The American Reporter this week that "it is very important for the high court to say online publications enjoy the same free press protections that print publications do in the United States."
The Supreme Court is expected to decide in early December whether it will combine the cases - and whether it will hear the ACLU case.
