Federal judicial ruling overturns parts of Arkansas library obscenity law

[LiberalArkie]

Dec 23, 2024

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A federal judge overturned two key provisions of an Arkansas law meant to restrict what librarians could provide.

The ruling by Judge Timothy L. Brooks overturns sections one and five of the 2023 law. Section one of Act 372 establishes the guilt of a librarian “knowingly” furnishing harmful material to a minor, and section five establishes how to challenge a librarian’s decision.

The Monday ruling permanently enjoined sections one and five of Act 372 from being enforced.

Snip

“Here, it is clear that there is no set of circumstances under which Sections 1 and 5 would be valid. The State has made no attempt to tailor Section 1 based on the Arkansas Supreme Court’s interpretation of ‘harmful to minors,’ though the State has been on notice of the broad sweep of this definition since 2004. Similarly, Section 5 contains multiple undefined terms that invite censorship decisions on the basis of content. Plaintiffs are therefore entitled to a declaratory judgment that Sections 1 and 5 of Arkansas Act 372 are unconstitutional, void, and of no effect.”
JUDGE TIMOTHY BROOKS, DEC. 23, 2024

https://www.kark.com/news/state-news/federal-judicial-ruling-overturns-parts-of-arkansas-library-obscenity-law/