This Forbidden Florida Reads edition departs from its usual format to cover Penguin Random House v. Gibson, a recent lawsuit concerning book bans.
Six publishers, the Author’s Guild and several notable authors filed a lawsuit August 29, 2024, in a US District Court against Florida public officials. The lawsuit targeted HB 1069, a bill responsible for many of the mass book bans in Florida school districts since the bill was signed into law by Governor DeSantis on May 18, 2023.
HB 1069 stipulated any book that “depicts or describes sexual conduct” must be removed from public school shelves. In the 2024 lawsuit, plaintiffs stated this stipulation violated the Supreme Court ruling in Miller v. California. The 1973 Miller ruling defined “obscenity” and requires consideration of a work’s “literary, artistic, political, or scientific value” when determining its protection under Free Speech. The plaintiffs in the 2024 lawsuit claimed: Because HB 1069 orders removal without this consideration, it violates the First Amendment.
In November 2024, attorneys for the state of Florida (the defendants) filed a Motion to Dismiss the lawsuit. Their main objection was that the plaintiffs lacked standing in the case. They claimed decisions about what books appear on public library shelves is “government speech,” therefore not beholden to the First Amendment. Their Motion to Dismiss was denied in February 2025.
Additionally, the defendants appealed to the 11th Amendment, which protects states from being sued by private parties in federal court. This appeal was rejected, citing a precedent set in League of Women Voters of Fla. v. Detzner. The precedent holds that federal courts can still review state laws for constitutional compliance.
On August 13, 2025, U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza issued his decision in favor of the plaintiffs. Judge Mendoza struck down major portions of HB 1069 as “overbroad and unconstitutional.” While the law (2024 Florida Statute Section 1006.28) remains in effect, it is significantly narrowed in scope.
“As publishers dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and the right to read, the rise in book bans across the country continues to demand our collective action.”