Supreme Court weighs law banning sex offenders from Facebook
RALEIGH, N.C. — Fresh from a trip to traffic court, Lester Packingham Jr. celebrated his turn of good fortune by announcing to friends on Facebook that his pending ticket was dismissed without him saying a word.
“No fine. No Court costs. No nothing. Praise be to God. Wow. Thanks, Jesus,” Packingham wrote in a 2010 post that led to a lawsuit being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday.
Packingham, 36, was forbidden by a 2008 North Carolina law from using commercial social networking sites like Facebook that children could join. That’s because he’s a registered sex offender who was convicted of indecent liberties with a minor when he was 21. He served 10 months in prison.
A Durham police officer investigated Packingham’s post and determined he used an alias rather than his real name. Packingham was prosecuted, convicted of a felony and received a suspended prison sentence. His lawyers say no evidence pointed to Packingham using Facebook or his computer to communicate with minors or that he posted anything inappropriate or obscene.