Multiple Reports: Federal Judge Blocks Arkansas’s Library Censorship Law From Taking Effect

UPDATE: We’re adding statements/reactions (incl. audio and video) to the news at the bottom of this post. (Last Updated 7:30pm 8/2)

From the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:

A federal judge in Fayetteville on Saturday temporarily blocked enforcement of two provisions of Act 372, a new state law on library materials, days before the law was scheduled to take effect on Tuesday.

Citing the potential for the curtailing of the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights in the absence of a preliminary injunction, the decision puts the contested parts of the law on hold pending a final ruling on their constitutionality.

In a 49-page order, U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks of the Western District of Arkansas signaled a willingness to side with the plaintiffs on the constitutional issues.

The judge wrote that “the passage of Act 372 prompts a few simple, yet unanswered questions. For example: What has happened in Arkansas to cause its communities to lose faith and confidence in their local librarians? What is it that prompted the General Assembly’s newfound suspicion? And why has the State found it necessary to target librarians for criminal prosecution?”

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In a statement provided by a spokesman via email following the ruling on Saturday, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said, “We are reviewing the judge’s opinion and will continue to vigorously defend the law.”

Nate Coulter, the executive director of the Central Arkansas Library System, said in a statement via text message that he was “relieved that for now the dark cloud that was hanging over [the library system’s] librarians has lifted — they will not be threatened with jail for making books available to our patrons.”

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More From the Arkansas Times

Brooks’ 49-page order opened with a quote from Ray Bradbury, author of the classic dystopian novel “Fahrenheit 451”: “There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches.”

Much of the ruling concerned the question of what exactly is considered “harmful to minors” under the law, a term which in this context is equivalent to “obscene” — that is, containing sexually explicit material.

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Brooks also devoted a lengthy section in his opinion to essentially providing a defense of libraries’ social value, and a brief history of libraries as an institution.

At points in his opinion, the judge seemed vaguely astonished by the nature of the state law before him. “The passage of Act 372 prompts a few simple, yet unanswered questions,” he wrote. “For example: What has happened in Arkansas to cause its communities to lose faith and confidence in their local librarians? What is it that prompted the General Assembly’s newfound suspicion? And why has the State found it necessary to target librarians for criminal prosecution?”

Coulter, the CALS director, said he appreciated the homage to libraries. “I’m extremely grateful that Judge Brooks took the time and care to write a 49 page order that eloquently reminds all of us of how important libraries and librarians are to our values,” he said. “In other words, as folks in southwest Arkansas say, this order is stout as horseradish!”

Read the Complete Article (about 1700 words)

More Coverage From the Associated Press

The ACLU of Arkansas, which represents some of the plaintiffs, applauded the court’s ruling, saying that the absence of a preliminary injunction would have jeopardized First Amendment rights.

“The question we had to ask was — do Arkansans still legally have access to reading materials? Luckily, the judicial system has once again defended our highly valued liberties,” Holly Dickson, the executive director of the ACLU in Arkansas, said in a statement.

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Cheryl Davis, general counsel for the Authors Guild, said the organization is “thrilled” about the decision. She said enforcing this law “is likely to limit the free speech rights of older minors, who are capable of reading and processing more complex reading materials than young children can.”

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Reactions, Statements, Audio, Video

Latest Addition

• Freedom to Read Foundation Welcomes Preliminary Injunction Barring Implementation of Arkansas Act 372 (via FRF, ALA)

Previously Shared

• CALS Executive Director Nate Coulter Breaks Down Challenge to Arkansas Obscenity Law Allowing Prosecution of Librarians (via ABC News)
• Joint Statement of the Organizational Plaintiffs (via AAP)
• Statement From ACLU Arkansas
• Video: CALS LIbrary Director Speaks Out After Federal Judge Blocks Act 372, Avoiding Library Employees From Going To Jail (via KATV)

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