You be the Judge: Is Gambling Constitutional

YOU BE THE JUDGE

ARE FEDERAL RESTRICTIONS ON INTERNET GAMBLING UNCONSTITUTIONAL?

If you are a gambler, this may interest you.

Congress enacted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 because traditional law enforcement mechanisms were often inadequate to deal with Internet gambling, particularly because such gambling often crosses state lines.

In a recent decision of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association v. Attorney General of the United States, No. 08-1981, the Court heard arguments from a non-for-profit corporation engaged in dispensing information about gambling.

Amongst other things, the organization argued that the law prohibited a citizen's privacy right to engage in Internet gambling from his home.

YOU BE THE JUDGE: Does a citizen have a constitutional right to engage in Internet gambling from the privacy of his home?

The organization argued that the situation was akin to other cases where the courts had invalidated laws which barred certain forms of sexual conduct between consenting adults in the privacy of a home. But the Third Circuit disagreed. It held that sexual behavior was the most private of human conduct and was entitled to special protections in the most private of places, the home. Gambling through the Internet did not rise to the same special status.

The decision points out that a courtroom can bring justice and may be the only way to protect your rights. Our Firm knows courtrooms; we have harnessed the power of the law in courtrooms to bring justice for our clients for decades in Wayne, Morristown, Edgewater, Carteret, Edison, Camden, Jersey City, Montville, Montclair, Paterson and throughout Bergen County, Morris County, Passaic County, Essex County and Hudson County. Please contact us to discuss how we can help you protect your rights in a new lawsuit or provide a Asecond opinion@ about your pending lawsuit. There is no obligation for the initial consultation. Copyright Samuel D. Bornstein, P.A. 2008-2010.