A federal judge has declared unconstitutional an Arkansas law that would have made bookstore owners and librarians subject to criminal prosecution for making materials available on bookstore and library shelves that could be deemed harmful to minors. The law also mandated a procedure whereby individuals could challenge books in public libraries based on "appropriateness." In addition, outside review boards would have been allowed or encouraged to challenge books.
Ruling that the law is overbroad and vague, Judge Timothy L. Brooks permanently enjoined enforcement of those key parts of the law. In a court memorandum, he found that the criminal sanctions section "violates the due process rights of professional librarians and booksellers and the First Amendment rights of library and bookstore patrons." And he found that the part that "empowers local elected officials to censor library books they feel are not 'appropriate' for citizens to read and allows (if not encourages) content- and viewpoint-based restrictions on protected speech" has no "compelling governmental purpose."
The ruling came in a lawsuit filed June 2, 2023, by a large group that includes two local bookstores--Pearl's Books, Fayetteville, and WordsWorth Books, Little Rock--the American Booksellers Association, parents and students, local libraries and library associations, the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild, and others.
A statement issued by many of the plaintiffs read: "Together with librarians, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers everywhere, we applaud the Court's carefully crafted decision upholding the constitutional right to access books."