"None Of These Books Are Obscene": Judge Strikes Down Much of Florida's Book Ban Bill [View all]

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"None Of These Books Are Obscene": Judge Strikes Down Much of Florida's Book Ban Bill

https://bookriot.com/penguin-random-house-florida-lawsuit/

“None Of These Books Are Obscene”: Judge Strikes Down Much of Florida’s Book Ban Bill
In a major win for intellectual freedom, a judge rules against Florida law that led to removing hundreds of books from school libraries.
Kelly Jensen Aug 14, 2025

Judge Carlos Mendoza of the U.S. Middle District Court of Florida has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in a major case related to book banning in the state. The 50-page decision, available here, states that the law used to pull books from Florida public schools is “overbroad and unconstitutional.”

Since its passage in 2023, Florida schools have removed hundreds of books under House Bill 1069 (HB 1069). HB 1069 required that school librarians remove materials from their collections that contain “sexual content,” regardless of the value of the book. It also allowed parents or county residents to raise objections to material, which then would need to be removed within five days of the objection and remain unavailable until the book was formally reviewed. The bill laid out no necessary timeline for review of material, nor did it require that material be returned to shelves, even following formal review

Penguin Random House, alongside five other publishers; the Authors Guild; authors Julia Alvarez, Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, Jodi Picoult, and Angie Thomas; two students; and two parents filed a lawsuit against Florida public officials in August 2024, claiming that the parts of HB 1069 that applied to books permitted widespread removal of materials from schools and were in violation of the First Amendment. The bill led to the removal of books without regard to their literary or artistic value. Trainings by the Florida Department of Education further encouraged school librarians to “err on the side of caution” when it came to materials in the collection, noting that if their libraries had materials with “sexual conduct,” it could lead to punishment.


“The judge’s order makes it clear that we cannot judge a book by its cover or a maliciously selected excerpt out of context,” said Stephana Ferrell of the Florida Freedom to Read Project. “This means that the thousands of books that have been prohibited from student access without careful consideration of their value should be returned to shelves immediately. Florida cannot call itself the “freest state” while it blatantly violates the First Amendment rights of our youngest citizens.”