U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Decision in Stevens Case, 8-1

Posted Tue, 04/20/2010 - 10:52am by LLDovey
Voting 8-1, the United States Supreme Court upheld a Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision that voided the conviction of a Virginia man saying it violated the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court's majority opinion was authored by Chief Justice Roberts.
 
At issue was a 1999 federal law that makes it a crime to create, sell or possess videos and other depictions of cruelty to animals. The case arose over the conviction of Robert Stevens, who received a three-year prison sentence from a Western Pennsylvania court for selling videos that included scenes of hunting with dogs. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the conviction on constitutional grounds. The Supreme Court upheld the Third Circuit's decision. Had the Third Circuit's decision been overturned, all images of legal hunting and fishing could have been deemed illegal under the law.
 
Beth Heifetz of the Jones Day law firm in Washington, D.C. wrote the amicus brief filed before the court for the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA), explained that the law at issue was surprisingly broad, covering images where an animal is wounded or killed even if the underlying conduct, as with lawful hunting and fishing, is legal where it occurred.  Rather, the image was covered by the statute if the underlying conduct was unlawful where the image is sold or possessed.  Given the wide range of hunting and fishing laws across the United States, the statute therefore encompassed countless images, and threatened the livelihood of outdoor photographers and journalists.
 
"The Court held that images of animal cruelty is not a category of speech that is outside the protection of the First Amendment," Heifetz explained. "The Court also cited the brief filed on behalf of the Professional Outdoor Media Association in recognizing the significant numbers of hunting periodicals, television programs, videos, and websites that would be affected by the statute.  Because of this significant effect on lawful speech, the statute was ruled overbroad and therefore unconstitutional."
 
POMA took a lead role in bringing journalists and outdoor industry organizations together in support of the First Amendment argument presented before the Court by Robert Steven's attorney Patricia Millett.

"POMA is grateful to the Court for this important decision," said Laurie Lee Dovey, POMA executive director. "The First Amendment rights of traditional outdoor sports journalists, those who cover legal hunting and fishing and promote the enjoyment of these American heritage sports, are protected. The impact of this decision on POMA members, all journalists, and the outdoor industry can not be overstated."

Dovey went on to express POMA's gratitude to Millett and Heifetz. She also recognized the organizations who supported POMA's brief, including the American Society of Media Photographers, North American Nature Photography Association, Southeastern Outdoor Press Association, Texas Outdoor Writers Association and Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association.

"Mr. Stevens is pleased and extremely grateful for the Supreme Court's thoughtful consideration of his case and the decision vindicating his right, and that of all other Americans, to speak freely and to educate the public," said Millett. "Acts of animal cruelty are abhorrent and rightly condemned. Laws banning such conduct remain fully protected, as they should be.  But we cannot forget how critical the free flow of information is to educating the public about the problems of animal cruelty and the need for legislative and prosecutorial action to combat it.

"The Court's decision today is a victory not just for Mr. Stevens but also for all others who write about , photograph, and film the lives of animals in order to educate the public about lawful activities like hunting and fishing, animal conservation issues, and the lives of wild, endangered, and little known species," Millett added. "Today the Supreme Court reinforced the protections for all who document the lives of animals and the many people who, like him, are fighting to end the mistreatment of animals and want to be able to tell the animals' stories without fear of imprisonment or censorship.  Mr. Stevens is particularly grateful to the leadership POMA showed in filing an influential amicus brief with the Supreme Court, which the Supreme Court relied upon in its decision."

Hear more from POMA tonight on NRANew.com's Cam and Company program (April 20, 9:40 p.m.).

For more information contact:
Laurie Lee Dovey

814-525-6989
 
 

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