Supreme Court Declines Review Of Texas Library Book-Removal Case, Drawing Free-Speech Criticism

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal arising from a 2022 dispute in Llano County, Texas, over the removal of more than a dozen books from public-library shelves. By refusing review, the Court left intact a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that concluded the removals did not violate the Constitution.

Background

The controversy began when a group of Llano County residents asked the county library commission to remove titles they found objectionable because the books address themes of sex, race and gender, and include some children’s books featuring crude humor. The local commission ordered librarians to remove the specified books, and a different group of residents sued to keep the books available.

In 2023 a federal judge ordered the county to restore some of the books. That ruling was overturned earlier this year by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — which covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi — when the appeals court held that removing a title from a library shelf does not amount to a constitutional ban on speech.

“No one is banning (or burning books). If a disappointed patron can't find a book in the library, he can order it online, buy it from a bookstore or borrow it from a friend,” the 5th Circuit said in its May 23 order.

Reactions

The decision not to take the case drew sharp criticism from free-speech and library advocates. Elly Brinkley, staff attorney for U.S. Free Expression Programs at PEN America, said leaving the 5th Circuit ruling in place "erodes the most elemental principles of free speech" and allows governments to exert ideological control over reading choices.

Sam Helmick, president of the American Library Association, warned the move risks transforming public libraries into "centers for indoctrination" instead of institutions of open inquiry and said it undermines the First Amendment right to read without viewpoint-based censorship.

Books, Local Context And Wider Impact

Llano County, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of Austin, has roughly 20,000 residents and is described as largely white and conservative. Titles originally targeted for removal included nonfiction and children’s books such as:

• "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent" by Isabel Wilkerson
• "They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
• "In the Night Kitchen" by Maurice Sendak
• "It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex and Sexual Health" by Robie H. Harris
• "Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen" by Jazz Jennings
• Children’s humor titles such as "Larry the Farting Leprechaun" and "My Butt Is So Noisy!"

After the federal judge ordered restoration of some books, county officials even briefly considered closing public libraries rather than return the titles to circulation.

Advocates warn the 5th Circuit opinion is already being cited by officials in other jurisdictions to justify similar removals, raising concerns about the spread of viewpoint-based censorship beyond Texas.

Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham, the county's top official, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Hillel Italie contributed reporting from New York City.