U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Animal Cruelty Law on First Amendment Grounds

In an endorsement of First Amendment principles, the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down a federal law that made it a crime to create, sell or possess certain depictions of animal cruelty.
Calling the law a "criminal prohibition of alarming breadth," Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. said there was no basis for carving out such an exception to the First Amendment. Roberts wrote for an 8-1 majority in the case, U.S. v. Stevens.
The 10-year-old statute was aimed at the growing market, especially on the Internet, of so-called "crush videos," showing the killing of helpless animals in ways that appeal to the prurient interests of purchasers. But the law defined its target broadly, outlawing depictions of intentional killing or maiming of animals if the conduct violated laws of jurisdictions where they were sold, created or possessed. It exempted depictions with serious religious, scientific, educational, journalistic, historical or artistic value.
The majority also left open the possibility that a statute narrowly focused on crush videos might be found constitutional.