The federal appeals court in Philadelphia said the law, enacted in 1999, illegally restricts speech, although it acknowledged that preventing cruelty to animals is a worthy goal.
Robert Stevens of Pittsville, Va., was convicted and sentenced to 37 months in prison for selling videos of pit bull fights. The Third US Circuit Court of Appeals also reversed the conviction.
The appeals court described one video as including a "gruesome depiction of a pit bull attacking the lower jaw of a domestic farm pig."
Still, it rejected the government's argument that the law is justified by a "compelling interest in protecting animals from wanton acts of cruelty."
In other action yesterday, the court:
- Seemed skeptical of holding the current Iraqi government responsible in American courts for the acts of Saddam Hussein's regime. The case involves Americans, including CBS News correspondent Bob Simon, who sued Iraq after being held captive during the Gulf War in 1991.
Appeared divided over a federal court's continuing power to tell Arizona to spend more money to educate students who aren't proficient in English. Rejected a challenge from a death row inmate in Texas over jurors' use of a Bible during their deliberations on his sentence. Agreed to release audio recordings soon after the argument on April 29 over a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. In the animal cruelty case, the court said every state has laws banning animal cruelty and dogfighting. The government does not have the same interest in pursuing the makers of the animal videos that it has in people who distribute images of child pornography, the court said.
