In Cornelio v. Connecticut, — F.4th —, 2022 WL 1217394 (2d Cir. April 26, 2022), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit considered a First Amendment challenge to a state statute requiring individuals convicted of certain criminal sexual offenses and offenses against minors to disclose all “internet communication identifiers” to law enforcement (the Disclosure Requirement). See Conn. Gen. Stat. §54-250 et seq.

In an opinion authored by Circuit Judge Steven Menashi, the unanimous panel, which included Circuit Judge Dennis Jacobs and District Judge John P. Cronan, reversed the district court’s dismissal of the case and found that the plaintiff had stated a plausible First Amendment claim. The court refused to credit the government’s assertions that the Disclosure Requirement advanced important governmental interests, such as deterrence, without any supporting record evidence. The court emphasized that it is the government’s burden to demonstrate that a challenged law furthers important governmental interests, that it is narrowly tailored, and warned district courts not to supply a justification that the government fails to provide.

District Court Proceedings in ‘Cornelio’