CHICAGO – Good news for videogame companies; bad news for moms: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has upheld the U.S. District Court’s December 2005 ruling that an Illinois law banning the sale of sexually explicit videogames to minors is unconstitutional.
Though the Illinois law—spearheaded by Gov. Rod Blagojevich—would have categorized certain videogames as being “obscene for minors” and mandated that retailers include a four-inch-square “18” rating on the box, the appeals court countered that the serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value of the games should be taken into consideration when determining their suitability for children.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) led the challenge, assisted by the Media Coalition, a non-profit association that defends the First Amendment rights surrounding the sale and production of books, magazines, comics, recordings, videos, and videogames. An amicus brief filed by the coalition pointed out the First Amendment deficiencies in the Illinois law.
“While it is constitutionally permissible for the legislature to restrict the dissemination of sexually oriented material to minors, it must do so in a manner consistent with the three-part test established by the U.S. Supreme Court,” read the brief, authored by Michael Bamberger, who doubled as general counsel for the Media Coalition. “Illinois legislators and Gov. Blagojevich were informed that this law did not meet the test, and thus was constitutionally defective, but they recklessly chose to pass it anyway and invited a legal challenge.”
ESA Executive Director David Lowenstein issued a statement condemning the law and praising the decision. “We are obviously pleased that the appeals court has totally vindicated our position and repudiated the politically motivated claims made by the governor,” his statement read. “It is truly outrageous that the state, in the face of mounting legal fees, pursued this appeal, thus adding further to the more than half-million dollars in court-ordered legal fees it stuck on Illinois taxpayers.”
The Associated Press reported that the state has yet to pay the game industry $510,260 for attorney’s fees racked up in the case. U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kennelly will rule next month on whether to set a deadline for the state to make good on the court-ordered payment.
