A federal judge in Florida has struck down parts of the state’s 2023 book ban law, ruling that its restrictions on material deemed “pornographic” in school libraries are “overbroad and unconstitutional.”
Judge Carlos Mendoza, appointed by President Barack Obama, issued summary judgment in a lawsuit brought by major publishers including Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster, joined by The Authors Guild and authors such as John Green and Jodi Picoult. The challenge argued that Florida’s HB 1069 failed to define terms like “pornographic” or “describes sexual conduct,” allowing books to be banned arbitrarily.
Mendoza agreed, writing the law allowed objections under an “I know it when I see it” standard, without considering whether works had literary or artistic value. He cited titles pulled under the law such as The Color Purple, The Kite Runner, and The Handmaid’s Tale, noting “none of these books are obscene.”
The ruling emphasized that books can only be removed if they lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value when considered as a whole. Plaintiffs hailed the decision as a major victory for free expression.
The Florida Department of Education has recently pressured school officials over library content, but efforts in the state legislature to further define “harmful to minors” stalled over constitutional concerns.
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