First Amendment
Supreme Court Could Hear Challenge to Law Barring Animal Cruelty Videos
Posted Jan 6, 2009, 01:19 pm CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
The solicitor general has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the constitutionality of a law barring depictions of animal cruelty.
The justices are likely to grant the request, for two reasons, the New York Times reports. A request for a decision from the solicitor general is heeded more often than not. And the case also involves a federal statute struck down by a federal appeals court.
The 1999 law was enacted in response to “crush videos” showing women killing animals by crushing them with their bare feet or high-heeled shoes, the story says. The en banc 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia overturned the law in July, saying it violated the free speech rights of Robert J. Stevens, a Virginia man convicted for selling dogfight videos. The law bars depictions of animal cruelty for commercial gain, even if the portrayals show animals fighting in a country where it is legal.
The solicitor general claims the First Amendment does not apply to the law, since videos showing intentional infliction of suffering “play no essential role in the expression of ideas.” A First Amendment specialist thinks the argument is a loser.
Law professor Eugene Volokh of the University of California predicted in a Times interview that the court will strike down the law. “It’s going to be at least 6-3, perhaps even unanimous,” he said.