[Libs-Or] FTRF, ALA file amicus brief in U.S. Supreme Court case on ability to bring First Amendment challenges

[Diedre Conkling]

 FTRF, ALA file amicus brief in U.S. Supreme Court case on ability to bring
First Amendment challenges

For Immediate Release
Tue, 03/04/2014
Contact:
Barbara M. Jones
Director
Office for Intellectual Freedom
312-280-4222
bjones at ala.org

CHICAGO -- The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) and American Library
Association (ALA) on Friday joined a broad range of organizations and
bookstores in filing an *amicus* brief with the U.S. Supreme Court
(PDF)<http://mediacoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SBAL_Driehaus_amicus.pdf>in
a case potentially affecting the right to challenge laws that infringe
on the First Amendment prior to their enforcement.

The case, *Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus*, is on appeal to the High
Court after the Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling that the Susan
B. Anthony List (SBAL) lacked standing to submit a facial (or
pre-enforcement) challenge to an Ohio law regulating speech in campaign
advertising. The lower court found that SBAL couldn't demonstrate that
prosecution under the law was "likely" or "imminent."

In the brief, written by Michael Bamberger and Richard Zuckerman of Dentons
US LLP, general counsel to Media Coalition <http://mediacoalition.org/>,
the *amici* argue that three decades of case law have clearly demonstrated
the importance and effectiveness of allowing pre-enforcement challenges to
statutes that violate the First Amendment.  The brief cites 23 cases in
which such statutes were found unconstitutional or were only found
constitutional under narrow readings. *Amici* argue that the Sixth
Circuit's definition of standing could have made it difficult for these
challenges to be filed, thus creating a chilling effect on the First
Amendment rights of booksellers, publishers, librarians and others who had
demonstrated that they could be subject to prosecution if the statutes were
allowed to go into effect.

FTRF executive director and ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom director
Barbara Jones said, "The importance of the brief submitted by FTRF, ALA,
and the other organizations goes beyond the facts of any one case and
speaks to the fundamental principle that Americans shouldn't have to wait
for arrests or other penalties to occur in order to challenge laws that
clearly violate our freedoms to speak, publish, and receive information.
The library community is pleased to join this effort to preserve our right
to challenge unconstitutional laws before they impair our freedom."

Media Coalition has created a web
page<http://mediacoalition.org/sbal-v-driehaus/> with
more information about the case, a link to the brief
(PDF)<http://mediacoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SBAL_Driehaus_amicus.pdf>,
and an interactive
map<http://mediacoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/court-cases.swf>
detailing
the cases cited in the brief (including many in which FTRF and ALA
participated).  Other parties in the brief include the American Booksellers
Association, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression,
Association of American Publishers, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Dark
Horse Comics, and several book stores and bookseller associations.

http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2014/03/ftrf-ala-file-amicus-brief-us-supreme-court-case-ability-bring-first



-- 
*Diedre Conkling*




*Lincoln County Library DistrictP.O. Box 2027Newport, OR 97365Phone & Fax:
541-265-3066Work email**:
**diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org*<diedre at lincolncolibrarydist.org>
*Home email: **diedre08 at gmail.com* <diedre08 at gmail.com>

 "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change
your attitude."--Maya Angelou
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/libs-or/attachments/20140304/286ce510/attachment.html>