Challenging Wisconsin’s Hunting Statute as a First Amendment Violation
Joseph Brown v Jeffery L Kemp
The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in federal court aiming to strike down a Wisconsin statute banning photographing, videotaping, approaching, or even “maintaining a visual or physical proximity to” a hunter.
Status
Next Step
Awaiting Decision on Motion to Dismiss
In 2017, the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in federal court aiming to strike down a Wisconsin statute banning photographing, videotaping, approaching, or even “maintaining a visual or physical proximity to” a hunter. In addition to criminal penalties, the law subjects violators to civil lawsuits brought by the hunters and trappers themselves.
The lawsuit argues that the law’s restrictions violate the First Amendment — the same constitutional rights two federal judges ruled had been violated by Idaho’s and Utah’s Ag-Gag statutes. Just like these Ag-Gag laws, we argued that the Wisconsin statute at issue is unconstitutional for suppressing speech critical of animal exploitation.
The three plaintiffs in the lawsuit, represented by attorneys from the Animal Legal Defense Fund and a Milwaukee-based law firm, are Wisconsin residents who, as a documentarian, journalist and activist, each rely on the types of monitoring the statute prohibits. The plaintiffs say hunters in the state have been emboldened by the law’s protections, leading to more frequent and aggressive confrontations.
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Recent News
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Iowa: Urge Legislators to Oppose Ag-Gag Bill
Iowa lawmakers are at it again, attempting to enact an unconstitutional Ag-Gag law — while still fighting a federal court decision striking down a previous version of this same law, as violating the First Amendment. -
Court Rules Iowa Ag-Gag Law Unconstitutional in Major Victory for Free Speech and Animal Protection
Undercover investigations at factory farms protected by First AmendmentJanuary 9, 2019 Press Release -
Lawsuit Challenging Iowa’s Ag-Gag Law Proceeds, State’s Motion to Dismiss Denied
Today the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Iowa denied Iowa’s motion to dismiss a pending lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s Ag-Gag law.February 28, 2018 Press Release
Related Cases
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Challenging Iowa’s Ag-Gag Law
Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Kimberly K. Reynolds
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Challenging North Carolina’s Ag-Gag Law
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v Roy Cooper - Lawsuit filed in 2016
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Challenging Kansas’s Ag-Gag Law
Animal Legal Defense Fund et. al. v. Kelly et. al.
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