The Clinic filed suit in Idaho federal court against the Idaho attorney general, county prosecutors, and others challenging the state’s law restricting public and school libraries from making constitutionally protected literary works available to minors. The Clinic is representing the Donnelly, Idaho Public Library District, public school librarian Christie Nichols, two parents, two students, the Big Five publishers, Sourcebooks, bestselling authors Malinda Lo, David Levithan, and Dashka Slater, and the Authors Guild.

The complaint filed by the Clinic against the bill known as HB 710 alleges that the law is vague, overbroad, and viewpoint discriminatory in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

HB 710 has drastically altered the operations of some Idaho public and school libraries, especially in small or rural communities, and has in turn harmed the students and parents that those libraries serve. Publishers and authors have likewise been prevented from spreading their important messages to their core audience—young readers—due to HB 710.

The plaintiffs will move to enjoin enforcement of the law and put an end to this effort by the state to silence voices they disapprove of in violation of the Constitution.

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