ELR Citation: 52 ELR 20113
No(s). 4:21-cv-00231-SMR-HCA (S.D. Iowa Sep 26, 2022) (Rose, J.)

A district court granted summary judgment for nonprofit groups in a challenge to an Iowa statute aimed at preventing them from recording images or videos of conditions in slaughterhouses and other animal facilities. The groups argued that the statute impermissibly restricted their First Amendment free speech by making it a crime to place an electronic surveillance device on trespassed property, and that it was overbroad because it was unclear which conduct was prohibited and which was permissible. The state moved to dismiss, asserting the statute regulated conduct and not protected speech, and that even if it did regulate speech, it passed intermediate scrutiny because it was narrowly tailored to significant governmental interests. The court found that the act of recording was a necessary predicate to produce protected speech—a finished video—and was thus protected under the First Amendment, and that the statute was insufficiently tailored compared to its burden on speech. It denied the motion to dismiss, and granted summary judgment for the groups.