Hearings on a request for a preliminary injunction in American Library Association v. Pataki, a closely watched challenge to New York state's Internet censorship law, are scheduled to begin on Thursday in US District Court.
Among the first to testify in support of the law passed last November will be Westchester County district attorney Jeanine Pirro. A specialist in sex crimes, Pirro played a leading role in pushing the statute through the Legislature.
The American Library Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed suit in January to block enforcement of the law, claiming that, like the federal Communications Decency Act, it is unconstitutionally broad and would reduce discourse on the Internet to baby talk.
