Michigan Booksellers Welcome Display Law Clarification

On Tuesday, October 5, Michigan booksellers announced that they welcomed a judge's legal decision that clarified a new state law regulating the display of material that is "harmful to minors."

In early January, six independent booksellers, the Great Lakes Booksellers Association (GLBA), and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) joined publishers and magazine distributors in filing a lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the law, which makes it illegal to allow a minor access to any material that is "harmful to minors."

The groups argued that the law was unconstitutionally overbroad and vague, and could place severe restrictions on the availability, display, and distribution of constitutionally protected, "non-obscene material" to both adults and older minors. The law, which was approved last year, provides up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine for anyone who allows a minor to examine "harmful" works.

Faced with the prospect of a two-year jail sentence if a minor picks up the wrong book, the groups contended that booksellers would have "no choice but to protect themselves" by segregating material into an "adults-only" section or wrapping books in plastic. This material could include romance novels, sexual education materials, health, photography, and art books, as well as classic literary texts -- all of which an older minor, under current laws, has a right to view.

On September 2, U.S. District Court Judge Anna Diggs Taylor dismissed the booksellers' complaint, but, in her decision, clarified that the law only affects books, magazines, and other material that have "harmful" material on their covers. She also explained that a bookseller could not be punished if a minor is found reading a "harmful" work in the store as long as he or she takes steps to correct the decision when it is discovered. The groups had one month from the day of the ruling to decide whether or not to appeal.

"Judge Taylor dismissed our complaint, but she also eased our concerns," said Jim Dana, executive director of GLBA. "The new law will not change the way booksellers in Michigan do business."

The Michigan bookstores that challenged the law are Athena Book Shop in Kalamazoo; Books & More in Albion; Lowry's Books, with locations in Three Rivers and Sturgis; Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor; Schuler Books, Inc. with locations in Grand Rapids, Okemos, Lansing, and Walker; and Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor. The other plaintiffs were the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and the International Periodical Distributors Association.

Herschel P. Fink of Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn LLP, in Detroit, and Michael A. Bamberger of Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal in New York, represents the plaintiffs.