Victory for Domain Owners in Kentucky

LOUISVILLE — The Kentucky Court of Appeals has enacted an order prohibiting the Franklin Circuit Court from seizing scores of Internet domain names.

The move hopefully brings to an end the democratic Governor Steve Beshear's effort to seize the domain names of 141 gambling-related websites as a protectionist move to bolster the state's gaming industry, which centers on horse race wagering.

Beshear prompted Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate to issue the widely contested seizure order, which never had any real effect as the state cannot control a website's content until the names are forfeited to the state.

"We have Kentucky exercising worldwide jurisdiction," attorney William E. Johnson said of the proceedings, which have seen friend-of-the-court filings by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, Network Solutions and The Poker Players Alliance.

According to Erik Lycan, an attorney representing the state, gambling sites are engaged "in a massive offshore criminal conspiracy [masquerading] as a legitimate business."

According to Larry Walters, an attorney representing Golden Palace in the underlying case, the site owners were obviously quite pleased with the court's decision.

"The parties raised so many legal and constitutional defects in the Commonwealth's position, that we were not sure which one would bring down the house of cards," Walters told XBIZ.

One issue at hand was whether or not domain names can be classified as gambling devices, since they do not meet the legal definition of being a manufactured electronic device and as such covered under Kentucky's 1974 gaming statutes which predate the commercial availability of the Internet.

"The Appellate Court decided to focus on whether domain names could constitute 'gambling devices' under Kentucky law," Walters said. "Not surprisingly, it found that they did not and therefore could not be seized."

Thus, the Constitutional conundrums were avoided.

"A basic principle of constitutional law requires the courts to avoid ruling on constitutional questions if there are other grounds on which to resolve a dispute," Walters noted. "In this appeal, the court avoided the difficult constitutional issues relating to Freedom of Speech and the Commerce Clause by honing in on the 'gambling device' issue, and shutting down this ill-conceived prosecution."

During a hearing in the appellate court last month, two of the three judges reportedly expressed skepticism as to the case's merits; with Judge Jeff Taylor raising concerns over how the government could seize domain names without prosecuting the website operators and giving them their day in court.

"We'll have to wait and see whether the Commonwealth decides to pursue this case any further, but for now, our clients are pleased with the result," Walters concluded.

View Document

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Skinfluential Management's FansFuel Acquires Fanwire

FansFuel has acquired creator account management tool Fanwire.

Nebraska AV Bill Moves Forward Despite Privacy, Free Speech Concerns

Nebraska’s unicameral Legislature has given first-round approval to LB 1092, the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

AEBN Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network (AEBN) is celebrating its 25th year in business this week.

Performers in Meta Blacklisting Lawsuit Seek to Preserve Antitrust Claims

Adult Performance Artists Guild board officers Alana Evans, Kelly Pierce and Ruby have informed a California court that, although they want to drop their lawsuit claiming that Meta conspired with OnlyFans to blacklist rival premium fan platforms’ talent, they may still pursue antitrust claims in the future.

FSC, Co-Plaintiffs to Ask US Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of Texas Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and its co-plaintiffs in the challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law have petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to stay its recent decision upholding the law, because they intend to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the law’s constitutionality.

FSC Vows to Fight Florida Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has issued a statement vowing to continue fighting Florida’s new age verification law, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday as part of a comprehensive bill targeting minors’ use of social media.

Kansas Republican Aims to Create New Bureaucracy to 'Investigate' Porn Websites

Republican state legislators succeeded Monday in moving forward Kansas’ version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists, despite serious concerns raised by House Democrats about the cost of establishing a new bureaucracy tasked with investigating websites for pornographic content.

SK Intertainment Launches 'Skinfluential Management' Agency, FansFuel Joint Venture

Mr. Skin/Mr. Man parent company SK Intertainment has launched new creator agency Skinfluential Management, as well as a new joint venture with Showbizz Media's creator stats and affiliate marketing platform, FansFuel.

Industry Attorney, Free Speech Champion Clyde DeWitt Passes Away at 75

Noted industry attorney Clyde DeWitt passed away on Friday in Las Vegas at 75, according to friends and colleagues.

APClips Names Avery Jane 'Creator of the Month'

APClips has named Avery Jane its Creator of the Month for March.

Show More