TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A U.S. district court judge has paused Free Speech Coalition’s lawsuit over Florida’s age verification law, pending the Supreme Court's ruling in the FSC-led challenge to Texas’ age verification law, HB 1181.
According to court documents, Chief United States District Judge Mark E. Walker, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, granted Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s motion for a stay of proceedings until the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton. Oral arguments in that case took place Jan. 15.
In his opinion, Walker noted, “It was apparent from the arguments that the Supreme Court’s ruling in this case is substantially likely to inform this Court’s analysis of Plaintiffs’ First Amendment claim, the level of scrutiny that should apply, and how that may impact the merits of Plaintiffs’ claim.”
On Dec. 24, Moody filed the motion asking the court to stay the FSC lawsuit challenging HB 3, the state's age verification law, which took effect Jan. 1. At the time, adult industry attorney Corey D. Silverstein told XBIZ that granting the motion would penalize adult sites operating in Florida without due process.
"Florida lawmakers are ignoring the constitution, just as in other states that have passed these laws, as well as ignoring existing case precedent that these laws are unconstitutional," he said.
As XBIZ reported earlier this month, the ramifications of HB 3 are already being felt. Aylo geo-blocked Pornhub in Florida starting on Jan. 1, as it has done in numerous other states with similar AV laws.
“This Court recognizes that Plaintiffs’ speech is chilled every day the challenged law is in effect, but, given the substantial guidance the Supreme Court is likely to provide in its ruling in Paxton and the impact this guidance will have on this Court’s analysis of Plaintiffs’ primary constitutional claims … this Court concludes that a limited stay of these proceedings is both appropriate and necessary in this case,” Walker wrote.
The suit is stayed until the Supreme Court issues its opinion in FSC v. Paxton, or until July 3, whichever happens sooner.