17 December 1999

See Junger case files: http://jya.com/pdj.htm

See also Peter Junger's Web site: http://samsara.LAW.CWRU.Edu/comp_law/jvd/

From: "Gary Daniels" <aclugd@en.com>
To: <aclugd@en.com>
Cc: <aclugd@en.com>
Subject: Junger v. Daley oral argument
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 11:52:16 -0500

All -

Below is the ACLU of Ohio's press release regarding the just concluded oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Junger v. Daley.

Sincerely,

Gary Daniels
Litigation Coordinator
ACLU of Ohio

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Press Release
For Immediate Release
Cleveland, December 17, 1999
2 pages

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ACLU Argues Encryption Case in Federal Appeals Court

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For More Information Contact:
Gino Scarselli, Assoc. Legal Director, ACLU of Ohio 216/781-8479 or 216/832-3990

Raymond Vasvari, Legal Director, ACLU of Ohio 216/781-8639 or 216/832-3990

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Today, ACLU of Ohio Associate Legal Director Gino Scarselli argued the case of Junger v. Daley, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit before a three judge panel.

The case itself involves federal restrictions that prevent U.S. citizens from publishing information regarding encryption in the form of computer “source code” on the Internet.  Source code is a form of computer programming language commonly used by computer professionals to exchange ideas regarding software design and development. For computer scientists, encryption allows them to communicate complex ideas with precision in much the same way that mathematical formulas allow mathematicians to communicate ideas or musical scores allow musicians to communicate.

The lawsuit against the U.S. Commerce Department, the National Security Agency and various others was filed in U.S. District Court in August 1996 on behalf of Peter Junger.  Junger is a law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and teaches the course “Computers and the Law.”  Fearing that his self-authored encryption programs, which he posted on his website, might run afoul of federal export restrictions, Junger decided to challenge the restrictions in federal court. The ACLU maintains, among other contentions, that the licensing requirement violates the First Amendment right to free expression because it forces individuals to submit their work to a censor before publishing it online.

In July 1998, U.S. District Court Judge James Gwin upheld the government’s restrictions, ruling that encryption language is not sufficiently expressive to warrant First Amendment protection.  Such a ruling by the Sixth Circuit would carry with it the possibility that the U.S. government and courts would effectively be creating a new category of unprotected expression for the first time in sixty years.

At this morning’s argument, questions from the panel of three judges focused on the First Amendment status of source code and the factual basis for the government’s national security claims.

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