United States v. Stevens

FALA filed this amicus brief in United States v. Stevens (No. 08-769) urging the Supreme Court to affirm the Third Circuit’s ruling that 18 U.S.C. § 48 — a federal law criminalizing depictions of animal cruelty — is facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Drawing on its members’ half-century of experience litigating obscenity cases, FALA argues that the statute fails strict scrutiny, is substantially overbroad, and that its “serious value” exception is unconstitutionally vague. The brief warns against the government’s attempt to create a new categorical exception to First Amendment protection, and uses the troubled history of obscenity prosecutions — including the Carnal Knowledge and Mapplethorpe cases — as a cautionary tale about what happens when vague “value” standards are left to prosecutorial and jury discretion. The Supreme Court ruled in Stevens’ favor in 2010, striking down the statute 8–1.