Federal Judiciary

11th Circuit approves book banning -- case not over yet

So the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in the controversial, three-year-old case of book banning brought by the ACLU against the Miami-Dade School Board. The court, in a 2-1 opinion, reversed U.S. Circuit Court Judge Alan Gold and ruled that the School Board was within its rights to yank the childrens' book Vamos a Cuba due to "factual inaccuracies."
The School Board had argued that the book -- part of a 24-volume series on life in different countries -- portrayed life under dictator Fidel Castro as essentially overly positive. The ACLU brought the case on constitutional/book banning grounds, and the school district has spent a quarter-of-million dollars defending it.
While school board members applauded the ruling, the ACLU promised a certain appeal. Lawyers there are currently deciding whether to request an enbanc hearing before the 11th or go straight to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to ACLU spokesman Brendan Hensler.
"This is the first case where a book was banned for what it doesn't say," Hensler said. "People recognize that book banning is not the solution -- that we shouldn't take books away but add more."
The books, which were replaced on the shelves of school libraries after Gold's ruling, will stay on the shelves until the litigation plays out, he said.
Interesting fact: it's unclear if any of the controversial books are even on the shelves any more. Most were checked out or stolen by souvenir collectors or angry residents.

Are you surprised by the 11th Circuit's ruling authored by Judge Ed Carnes? Will the U.S. Supreme Court take a book banning case?

Full post as published by Southern District of Florida on February 06, 2009 (boomark / email).