Opinion ID: 769245
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Irreparable Harm By Denial of Relief

Text: 81 The second prong of our preliminary injunction analysis requires us to consider whether the movant will be irreparably harmed by denial of the relief. Allegheny Energy, Inc. v. DQE, Inc. 171 F.3d 153, 158 (3d Cir. 1999). Generally, [i]n a First Amendment challenge, a plaintiff who meets the first prong of the test for a preliminary injunction will almost certainly meet the second, since irreparable injury normally arises out of the deprivation of speech rights. Reno I, 929 F. Supp. 824 at 866. This case is no exception. 82 If a preliminary injunction were not to issue, COPA-affected Web publishers would most assuredly suffer irreparable harm -- the curtailment of their constitutionally protected right to free speech. As the Supreme Court has clearly stated, the loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury. Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347, 373 (1976). We, therefore, conclude that this element of our preliminary injunction analysis has been satisfied.