The Supreme Court of the United States has denied the petition for certiorari in Little v. Llano County - the First Amendment book-removal lawsuit involving the Llano County Public Library system.
With that decision, the 48-page petition filed on September 9 will not be heard by the justices.
Llano County, whose 43-page response was filed October 24, had urged the Court to decline review.
A writ of certiorari is the formal process by which the Supreme Court chooses whether to review a lower court’s decision. The Court receives thousands of such requests each year and accepts only a small percentage. To take a case, at least four justices must vote in favor; in this instance, fewer than four did so. As a result, the Court declined to hear the appeal, leaving ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in place without expressing any opinion on its merits.
County officials learned of the decision during Monday’s regular meeting of the Llano County Commissioners Court. While commissioners discussed routine items, county attorneys quietly conferred nearby. After the final agenda item, County Attorney Dwain Rogers said, “I wasn’t going to recommend an executive session, but now I think we need a short one to discuss the news we just received…” and then made the announcement. The room erupted in cheers.
