Well, in the catagory when-pigs-fly, Scott and Justice Alito agree. I agree with him that videos of extreme animal cruelty or videos of women in high heel shoes crushing small animals to death is not a form of free speech.
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Justice Roberts disagrees on free speech grounds, and that animal cruelty might, someday, mean hunting videos. So in the abstract face of that threat, we will set dog fighting video producers and producers that have women in high heels step on squirrels and chipmunks and stomp them to death - well that is "free speech".
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From AP via Huffington....
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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court struck down a federal law Tuesday aimed at banning videos that show graphic violence against animals, saying it violates the right to free speech.
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The justices, voting 8-1, threw out the criminal conviction of Robert Stevens of Pittsville, Va., who was sentenced to three years in prison for videos he made about pit bull fights.
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The justices, voting 8-1, threw out the criminal conviction of Robert Stevens of Pittsville, Va., who was sentenced to three years in prison for videos he made about pit bull fights.
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The law was enacted in 1999 to limit Internet sales of so-called crush videos, which appeal to a certain sexual fetish by showing women crushing to death small animals with their bare feet or high-heeled shoes.
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The videos virtually disappeared once the measure became law, the government argued.
But Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said the law goes too far, suggesting that a measure limited to crush videos might be valid. Animal cruelty and dog fighting already are illegal throughout the country.
The videos virtually disappeared once the measure became law, the government argued.
But Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said the law goes too far, suggesting that a measure limited to crush videos might be valid. Animal cruelty and dog fighting already are illegal throughout the country.
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In dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said the harm animals suffer in dogfights is enough to sustain the law.
In dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said the harm animals suffer in dogfights is enough to sustain the law.