Arkansas
Judge blocks Arkansas law that would allow librarians to be charged for loaning
Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” or “obscene” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled Saturday.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, was set to take effect Aug. 1.
A coalition that included the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock had challenged the law, saying fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that could be challenged.
The judge also rejected a motion by the defendants, which include prosecuting attorneys for the state, seeking to dismiss the case.
Under the law, librarians or booksellers that “knowingly” loan or sell books deemed “obscene” by the state can be charged with a class D felony. Anyone “knowingly” in possession of such material could face a class A misdemeanor. “Furnishing” a book deemed “harmful” to a minor could also come with a class A misdemeanor charge.
Under the law, members of the public can “challenge the appropriateness of” a book. Under that process, officials at both school and municipal libraries must convene committees to review and decide, through a vote, whether a challenged book should be moved to areas of the library that are “not accessible to minors.”
The ACLU of Arkansas, which represents some of the plaintiffs, applauded the court’s ruling, saying that the absence of a preliminary injunction would have jeopardized First Amendment rights.
“The question we had to ask was — do Arkansans still legally have access to reading materials? Luckily, the judicial system has once again defended our highly valued liberties,” Holly Dickson, the executive director of the ACLU in Arkansas, said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes as lawmakers in an increasing number of conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books. The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.
Laws restricting access to certain materials or making it easier to challenge them have been enacted in several other states, including Iowa, Indiana and Texas.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in an email Saturday that his office would be “reviewing the judge’s opinion and will continue to vigorously defend the law.”
The executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, Nate Coulter, said the judge’s 49-page decision recognized the law as censorship, a violation of the Constitution and wrongly maligning librarians.
“As folks in southwest Arkansas say, this order is stout as horseradish!” he said in an email.
“I’m relieved that for now the dark cloud that was hanging over CALS’ librarians has lifted,” he added.
Cheryl Davis, general counsel for the Authors Guild, said the organization is “thrilled” about the decision. She said enforcing this law “is likely to limit the free speech rights of older minors, who are capable of reading and processing more complex reading materials than young children can.”
The Arkansas lawsuit names the state’s 28 local prosecutors as defendants, along with Crawford County in west Arkansas. A separate lawsuit is challenging the Crawford County library’s decision to move children’s books that included LGBTQ+ themes to a separate portion of the library.
The plaintiffs challenging Arkansas’ restrictions also include the Fayetteville and Eureka Springs Carnegie public libraries, the American Booksellers Association and the Association of American Publishers.
Arkansas
WATCH: Oklahoma HC Porter Moser, Players Central Arkansas Postgame
Carson Field has worked full-time in the sports media industry since 2020 in Colorado, Texas and Wyoming as well as nationally, and he has earned degrees from Arizona State University and Texas A&M University. When he isn’t covering the Sooners, he’s likely golfing, fishing or doing something else outdoors.
Twitter: https://x.com/carsondfield
Arkansas
Purdue football adds another linebacker from Arkansas
Purdue football coach Barry Odom makes first public appearance
Purdue football coach Barry Odom addresses questions from media in first public appearance in West Lafayette
WEST LAFAYETTE − Purdue football continues to stockpile Arkansas linebackers.
After snagging Razorback Alex Sanford out of the transfer portal, the Boilermakers picked up a commitment from Carson Dean.
Dean was a redshirt freshman for Arkansas this season and played in two games.
Dean, from Frisco, Texas, was a three star prospect by 247Sports out of Hebron High who had 17 offers, including Purdue.
In high school, Dean was an all-district outside linebacker after compiling 85 tackles, including 21 for loss as a senior in 2022.
At the time of his commitment, Barry Odom was Arkansas’ defensive coordinator and Mike Scherer, recently hired as Purdue’s defensive coordinator, was the Arkansas linebackers coach.
Scherer recruited Dean to Arkansas.
Odom’s staff, in need of linebackers after Kydran Jenkins graduated and Yanni Karlaftis transferred to Northwestern.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.
Arkansas
Purdue lands pledge from Arkansas LB transfer Alex Sanford
Purdue is starting to pick up steam on the transfer portal market as former Arkansas linebacker Alex Sanford announced his commitment to the Boilermakers following an official visit to West Lafayette this weekend.
Sanford becomes Purdue’s second transfer portal pickup of the cycle and second from Arkansas, following quarterback Malachi Singleton, who announced his commitment to the Boilermakers earlier this week.
The redshirt freshman linebacker had committed to Arkansas to play for Barry Odom and Mike Scherer when the two were coaching in Fayetteville. Two years later he now follows the Boilermakers’ new head coach and defensive coordinator to West Lafayette at a position of need.
Purdue had a thin linebacker corps this season, which saw Kydran Jenkins and Yanni Karlaftis depart this off-season. Sanford now joins Hudson Miller, Winston Berglund and Owen Davis as players with experience at the linebacker position for the Boilermakers heading into 2025.
Sanford has had a minimal role on defense during his career, playing just nine snaps, but he has carved out a consistent role on special teams. Sanford had the third most special teams snaps of any Razorback in 2024, and 328 across his two seasons, serving on the kick return, kick coverage, punt return and punt coverage units, holding a 65.2 Pro Football Focus grade in that regard.
Sanford will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Boilermakers.
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