Back in May, in a 10-7 opinion, a majority of justices for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed an earlier appellate decision and sided with Llano County. Now, the front of the legal battle might move from New Orleans to Washington D.C. if the U.S. Supreme Court decides to grant a petition for a writ of certiorari that was filed by the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit against Llano County. The 48-page petition was filed on Sept. 9, and Llano County’s response in opposition initially was due by Oct. 14. On Sept. 30, the county asked for more time to file its response, which was granted on Oct. 2. Jonathan F. Mitchell, the Austin attorney who is representing the county, filed the 43-page document with the U.S. Supreme Court on the due date of Oct. 24.
The petitioners argue that justices with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit were erroneous to have sided with Llano County on May 23. The petition presents one central question: “At the urging of a handful of private citizens, government officials in Llano County, Texas, removed 17 books from the county library’s shelves. A district court found that those book-removal decisions were motivated by a desire to censor particular viewpoints. The question presented is: Whether those book-removal decisions are subject to scrutiny under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.”
In its response, Mitchell argues that Llano County Library Director Amber Milum has been “falsely accused.”
