Utah Ag-Gag Law Declared Unconstitutional
Litigation

FROM

Alisa Mullins, PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
July 2017

The American public has a right to know about the horrific conditions on factory farms, and the Utah ‘ag-gag’ law is a blatant violation of free speech and freedom of the press.

On July 7, the U.S. District Court of Utah struck down Utah’s ag-gag statute as violating the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This is the second time a state ag-gag statute has been declared unconstitutional as a result of a lawsuit filed PETA and the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

This victory follows a landmark decision from August 2015, when the U.S. District Court of Idaho ruled that Idaho’s ag-gag law violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Today’s ruling resolves the first groundbreaking lawsuit filed in the nation to challenge ag-gag laws, which criminalize undercover investigations by animal activists and journalists at factory farms and slaughterhouses.

Originally posted on February 26, 2016:

Yesterday, after a PETA Foundation lawyer argued PETA and the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s case, a Utah judge rejected the state’s attempt to have our lawsuit contesting the state’s “ag-gag” law dismissed.

“The American public has a right to know about the horrific conditions on factory farms, and the Utah ‘ag-gag’ law is a blatant violation of free speech and freedom of the press,” said general counsel to PETA Jeff Kerr. “The court’s ruling allows this case to proceed so that PETA can prove what it has said all along: The ‘ag-gag’ law violates the Constitution. PETA is excited for this case to proceed and expects that it will result in the nullification of Utah’s ‘ag-gag’ law.” 

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