(WASHINGTON)— PEN America responded today to the Supreme Court decision to decline to hear Little v. Llano County, a case challenging book removals from the Llano County, TX public library, saying leaving a lower court ruling in place in effect allows state and local government to tell people “what they can and cannot read.”
Elly Brinkley, staff attorney for U.S. Free Expression Programs, said: “The Llano decision has already been used to uphold the devastating wave of book bans across the country. Leaving the Fifth Circuit’s ruling in place erodes the most elemental principles of free speech and allows state and local governments to exert ideological control over the people with impunity. The government has no place telling people what they can and cannot read.”
PEN America had previously criticized the lower court’s ruling for denying library patrons’ First Amendment right to receive information, and for embracing the dangerous application of the government speech doctrine to decisions about books in public libraries.
In October, PEN America submitted an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to hear the case. It would have been the first case on book bans to come before the justices since 1982.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], 201-247-5057