Animal Activists Battle First Amendment Defenses
The chief counsel for the Humane Society of the United States says the group is battling First Amendment arguments in its efforts to protect animals.
Jonathan Lovvorn, vice-president and chief counsel of the Humane Society, spoke to the Am Law Daily about recent cases citing the right to free speech. “The First Amendment is definitely the argument of choice right now,” he told the publication.
In one case, several chicken breeders and sellers sued in an effort to overturn a strengthened ban on transporting materials related to cockfighting. The plaintiffs cited their First Amendment rights, but on Monday a federal judge tossed the suit on standing grounds, the Am Law Daily reports.
In another suit, the Humane Society has sued Amazon.com and the U.S. Postal Service in an effort to stop the sale of magazines that publish ads for illegal cockfighting, the story says. A motion to dismiss filed on behalf of Amazon cites the First Amendment and says the magazines are “pure editorial, political speech, not commercial speech.”
The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to address the issue in another case challenging the constitutionality of a law barring depictions of animal cruelty. The en banc 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia overturned the law in July, saying it violated the free speech rights of a Virginia man convicted for selling dogfight videos.
