Library Filtering Trial Closes with Judges Wary of Law

A trial to determine how far the government can go to protect children from pornography ended Thursday with judges openly concerned about whether the latest online smut law from Congress infringes on free-speech rights. Attorneys for a plaintiffs' coalition of libraries, library patrons and Web site operators, who want CIPA overturned, said in closing arguments for the two-week trial that libraries cannot implement the law without denying patrons their First Amendment right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution.