Government Files Its Appeal in Third Circuit 2257 Case

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Late yesterday evening, attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed their brief with the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals here as part of the appeal of the ruling of District Judge Michael M. Baylson in the case of Free Speech Coalition, et al v. Attorney General of the United States. The government's brief attempts both to analyze Judge Baylson's ruling after the eight-day trial held in mid-June of last year, as well as to respond to the appeal points made by plaintiffs' attorneys J. Michael Murray and Lorraine Baumgardner in the appeal brief, which AVN analyzed here. In its 74-page appeal brief, the government attorneys—Stuart F. Delery, Zane David Memeger, Scott R. McIntosh and Anne Murphy—agreed with just about everything Judge Baylson stated as the basis for his opinion, and urged the appeals court to accept the judge's factual findings and not to look at the trial record itself to see if the testimony bore out the judge's conclusions. Check back later this afternoon with avn.com for a full analysis of the government's appeal brief.