Original Source: WKOW.com
WAUSAU (WKOW) — An Eau Claire man didn’t have a constitutional right to view pornography on a university library computer, a Wisconsin appeals court ruled Tuesday morning.
The case dates back to December 2014, when two students in the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire library noticed David Reidinger, then 45, watching pornography on a library computer. Court documents indicate one student reported Reidinger to a front desk worker, who called campus police. Officers then gave Reidinger a $295 disorderly conduct ticket, which he contested before he was ultimately found guilty.
Reidinger appealed and argued to the 3rd District Court of Appeals he had a First Amendment right to view legal adult pornographic material at a public library, pointing to two U.S. Supreme Court decisions he claimed supported his contention.
The appellate court ruled unanimously that neither of the Supreme Court cases Reidinger cited establishes a First Amendment right to view pornography in a public library or any other public place, and that the ticket he got was valid. Prosecutors didn’t have to prove his conduct caused an actual disturbance, just that the conduct could tend to cause or provoke one.
