Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/16pdf/15-1194_08l1.pdf
Page Number: 14.0

Cite as:  582 U. S. ____ (2017) 

1 

Opinion of the Court 
ALITO, J., concurring in judgment 

NOTICE:  This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the
preliminary  print  of  the  United  States  Reports.  Readers  are  requested  to
notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Wash-
ington,  D. C.  20543,  of  any  typographical  or  other  formal  errors,  in  order
that corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

_________________ 

No. 15–1194 
_________________ 

LESTER GERARD PACKINGHAM, PETITIONER v.
 
NORTH CAROLINA
 

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF 

NORTH CAROLINA
 

[June 19, 2017] 

JUSTICE  ALITO,  with  whom  THE  CHIEF  JUSTICE  and 

JUSTICE THOMAS join, concurring in the judgment. 

The  North  Carolina  statute  at  issue  in  this  case  was 
enacted  to  serve  an  interest  of  “surpassing  importance.” 
New York v. Ferber, 458 U. S. 747, 757 (1982)—but it has
a  staggering  reach.  It  makes  it  a  felony  for  a  registered 
sex  offender  simply  to  visit  a  vast  array  of  websites,  in-
cluding  many  that  appear  to  provide  no  realistic  oppor-
tunity  for  communications  that  could  facilitate  the  abuse 
of children.  Because of the law’s extraordinary breadth, I 
agree  with  the  Court  that  it  violates  the  Free  Speech 
Clause of the First Amendment. 

I cannot join the opinion of the Court, however, because
of  its  undisciplined  dicta.  The  Court  is  unable  to  resist 
musings  that  seem  to  equate  the  entirety  of  the  internet 
with  public  streets  and  parks.  Ante,  at  4–5.  And  this 
language is bound to be interpreted by some to mean that 
the States  are largely  powerless to restrict even the most 
dangerous  sexual  predators  from  visiting  any  internet
sites,  including,  for  example,  teenage  dating  sites  and
sites  designed  to  permit  minors  to  discuss  personal  prob-