Penguin Random House on SCOTUS’ Decision Not to Hear Little v. Llano
On Tuesday, December 8, the Supreme Court decided not to hear an appeal in the book banning case Little v. Llano, leaving in place the Fifth Circuit’s ruling that allows Llano County officials to remove books from public library shelves.
Back in October, Penguin Random House, along with Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Sourcebooks, and the Authors Guild, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the plaintiffs in Little v. Llano, urging the Court to review the case and overturn the Fifth Circuit’s ruling that public libraries in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi can remove books for political or ideological reasons.
“The Supreme Court’s decision not to review Little v. Llano is a setback in timing, but not in justice,” Dan Novack, VP, Associate General Counsel, Penguin Random House said. “We are undeterred and remain committed to defending the freedom to read in courtrooms across the country, including our ongoing challenges in the Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits. This issue will return to the Supreme Court in the near future, and we are working to establish strong, constitutional precedents that counter the Fifth Circuit’s ruling.”
The Fifth Circuit’s ruling, which was issued in May 2025, reversed more than 40 years of precedent in constitutional law, asserting that library collections are “government speech” and not protected by the First Amendment. Government officials in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi can now exclude any book or author they disagree with, for any reason: political, religious, or otherwise.
Although the Supreme Court’s decision not to take the case allows the Fifth Circuit’s ruling to stand for now, Penguin Random House and our partners remain actively engaged in defending the freedom to read nationwide, and future cases in other Circuits are expected to bring this issue back to the Supreme Court.