Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association case brief

Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association case brief summary
131 S.Ct. 2729 (2011)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Respondents, an association that represented the video-game and software industries, challenged Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1746-1746.5 (2009), claiming that it was unconstitutional. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California enjoined California authorities from enforcing the statute, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed. Petitioner, the Governor of California, sought review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

CASE FACTS
The State of California passed a law which prohibited the sale or rental of "violent video games" to minors, and required that violent video games be placed in packaging that was labeled "18." An association that represented the video-game and software industries filed a preenforcement action against the Governor of California, claiming that the statute violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and the district court issued an order which enjoined California authorities from enforcing the statute.

DISCUSSION

• The Supreme Court found that the statute violated the First Amendment. 
• Video games were a protected means of expression under the First Amendment, and the statute in question violated First Amendment protections because it was both underinclusive and overinclusive. 
• The statute was seriously underinclusive because it did not preclude minors from having access to information about violence in other forms, only in video games, and it was seriously overinclusive because it abridged the First Amendment rights of young people whose parents (and aunts and uncles) thought that violent video games were a harmless pastime. 
• The statute did not survive a strict scrutiny analysis.

CONCLUSION
The Supreme Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit's decision. 7-2 Decision; 1 concurrence; 2 dissents.

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