Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Issues Ruling on Iowa’s SF 496
Last Friday, August 9, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling siding predominantly with Penguin Random House, despite reporting and statements by Governor Kim Reynolds and Iowa Attorney General that positioned it as a victory for their side.
The lawsuit against Iowa was originally filed in November of 2023. Penguin Random House was a plaintiff in the case, along with the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA); four renowned authors whose books have been removed in Iowa school and classroom libraries—Laurie Halse Anderson (SPEAK and SHOUT), John Green (LOOKING FOR ALASKA and THE FAULT IN OUR STARS), Malinda Lo (LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB and A SCATTER OF LIGHT), and Jodi Picoult (Nineteen Minutes); three educators; and a high school student. In April 2024, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks joined the lawsuit.
On Friday, the Court rejected Iowa’s main argument supporting their book ban, which asserts that curating library books represents so-called “government speech” akin to raising a monument in a town square.
“We are pleased that the 8th Circuit rejected the government speech doctrine, the centerpiece of Iowa’s defense of the book ban law. We look forward to demonstrating the unconstitutional sweep of this extraordinarily broad statute,” Dan Novak, VP & Associate General Counsel, Penguin Random House, said in a statement to Publishers Weekly.
The Court revoked the injunction blocking the law and ordered the District Court judge to conduct additional analysis to substantiate his conclusion that the law blocks too many non-obscene books compared to obscene books. This means that— at least temporarily— districts must pull books again unless another injunction is obtained before school begins.
For more information about PRH’s actions in the ongoing fight against book bans, visit our Banned Books Resources page on OurHouse.