Free Speech at the Margins — ALDF and Animal Law Profs File Amicus Brief in U.S. v. Stevens

In U.S. v. Stevens, the Supreme Court will decide whether a federal law forbidding depictions of animal cruelty violates the First Amendment.  Suzanne first blogged about the case here.  ALDF and animal law professors from all over the country (of whom I am one) recently filed an amicus brief in this case.  One of the issues before the Court involves whether the Court’s 1993 holding in Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, striking down a municipal ordinance banning animal sacrifice (primarily because it targeted the Santeria religion), stands for the principle that animal cruelty cannot rise to a compelling state interest.  We argue that it does not.  I have written about the Lukumi case at some length and you can find it here.

I will have more to say about the Stevens case in the near future.  In the meanwhile, here’s a good post from ALDF.

–David Cassuto

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