Case: 23-50224 Document: 237-2 Page: 1 Date Filed: 09/08/2024
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`CASE NO. 23-50224
`
`IN THE
`UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
`FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
`
`Leila Green Little; Jeanne Puryear; Kathy Kennedy; Rebecca Jones;
`Richard Day; Cynthia Waring; Diane Moster,
`
`
`
`
`
`
` Plaintiffs—Appellees
`v.
`Llano County; Ron Cunningham, in his official capacity as Llano
`County Judge; Jerry Don Moss, in his official capacity as Llano
`County Commissioner; Peter Jones, in his official capacity as Llano
`County Commissioner; Mike Sandoval, in his official capacity as
`Llano County Commissioner; Linda Raschke, in her official capacity
`as Llano County Commissioner; Amber Milum, in her official
`capacity as Llano County Library System Director; Bonnie Wallace,
`in her official capacity as Llano County Library Board Member;
`Rochelle Wells, in her official capacity as Llano County Library
`Board Member; Rhoda Schneider, in her official capacity as Llano
`County Library Board Member; Gay Baskin, in her official capacity
`as Llano County Library Board Member,
`
`
`
`
`
` Defendants—Appellants
`
`ON APPEAL FROM
`THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
`WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`USDC NO. 1:22-CV-424
`BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE BRIAN MEADORS
`IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS-APPELLEES
`
`SUBMITTED BY:
`Brian Meadors pro se
`1930 W Oak Shadows Cir
`Memphis, TN 38119
`(980) 867-1371
`brianmeadors@gmail.com
`
`

`

`Case: 23-50224 Document: 237-2 Page: 2 Date Filed: 09/08/2024
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`
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`Table of Authorities ............................................................................................. 2
`Interest of the Amicus Curiae ............................................................................ 3
`Argument ............................................................................................................. 4
`Certificate of Service .......................................................................................... 6
`Certificate of Compliance .................................................................................. 6
`
`
`
`
`
`
`1
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`

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`Case: 23-50224 Document: 237-2 Page: 3 Date Filed: 09/08/2024
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`
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`
`Cases
`303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, 600 U.S. 570 (2023) .................................................. 4
`Counts v. Cedarville School District, 295 F. Supp. 2d 996 (W.D. Ark. 2003) ..... 3
`Doe v. University of Michigan, 721 F.Supp. 852 (E.D. Mich. 1989) ..................... 3
`Flores v. Bennett, 635 F.Supp.3d 1020 (E.D. Cal. 2022) .......................................... 4
`Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm’n, 584 U.S. 617 (2018) ........ 4
`Missouri v. Biden, 80 F.4th 641 (5th Cir. 2023) ........................................................ 4
`National Rifle Ass’n v. Vullo, No. 22–842 (U.S. Sup. Ct. 2024) ............................. 4
`Virden v. Crawford County, No. 2:23-cv-2071 (W.D. Ark., pending) ................. 3
`Publications
`B. Jendryka, C.B. Meadors, “John Doe Tells All,” Vol. 8, Num. 7, The Michigan
`Review at 1 (March 1990)1 .................................................................................... 3
`
`C.B. Meadors, “Time to Reflect: When Should ‘Dangerous’ Speech Lose its
`First Amendment Shield?” 36 Court Review 2, 46-54 (1999). ............................ 3
`
`B. Meadors, Harry Potter and the Cedarville Censors (McFarland Press 2019) .. 3
`Websites
`<https://pen.org/conservative-commentator-bill-oreilly-hits-the-roof-over-his-
`books-being-banned-in-florida/> (accessed Sept. 4, 2024) ............................... 5
`
`<https://pen.org/2023-banned-book-list/> (accessed Sept. 4, 2024) ................. 5
`
`
`
`1 Article can be found at <https://public.websites.umich.edu/~mrev/issues/Vol_8_No_7.pdf>
`(accessed Sept. 4, 2024).
`
`2
`
`

`

`Case: 23-50224 Document: 237-2 Page: 4 Date Filed: 09/08/2024
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`
`INTEREST OF THE AMICUS CURIAE2
`Amicus Curiae Brian Meadors would like to show the Court the
`
`long-term effects of a reversal in the instant case, based on his decades of free
`
`speech study and advocacy.
`Mr. Meadors’s experience and scholarship include: challenging campus
`speech codes;3 author on free speech issues;4, 5 plaintiffs’ attorney in Counts v.
`Cedarville School District, 295 F. Supp. 2d 996 (W.D. Ark. 2003) (overturning
`school’s restriction of Harry Potter books) and Virden, et al. v. Crawford County,
`et al., No. 2:23-cv-2071 (W.D. Ark.) (case is pending) (county requiring its
`library to sequester books with, inter alia, discussions of non-Christian
`religions, as well as books with gay or disabled characters); and speaker at
`multiple library functions on free speech topics.
`
`
`
`
`
`2 This brief is submitted by Mr. Meadors pro se and with the consent of all parties. Amicus
`Curiae certifies that this brief was not authored in whole or part by counsel for any of the
`parties; no party or party’s counsel contributed money for the brief; and no one other than
`Amicus Curiae has contributed money for this brief.
`3 B. Jendryka, C.B. Meadors, “John Doe Tells All,” Vol. 8, Num. 7, The Michigan Review at 1
`(March 1990) (case in article is Doe v. Univ. of Michigan, 721 F.Supp. 852 (E.D. Mich. 1989)).
`4 C. B. Meadors, “Time to Reflect: When Should ‘Dangerous’ Speech Lose its First
`Amendment Shield?” 36 Court Review 2, 46-54 (1999).
`5 B. Meadors, Harry Potter and the Cedarville Censors (McFarland Press 2019).
`
`3
`
`

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`Case: 23-50224 Document: 237-2 Page: 5 Date Filed: 09/08/2024
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`
`
`ARGUMENT
`While in this case a reversal would result in the exclusion of books that
`some think have little merit, in the long term a reversal would hurt
`conservative causes.
`This is because the political Left is an eager and active censor. The Left
`happily uses government power against conservatives. For example:
`
`• Missouri v. Biden, 80 F.4th 641 (5th Cir. 2023) rev’d by Murthy v. Missouri
`603 U.S. __ (2023). (Biden-Harris administration pressures social media to
`silence conservative voices).
`
`• National Rifle Ass’n v. Vullo, No. 22–842 (U.S. Sup. Ct. 2024) (State of New
`York punished and suppressed the NRA’s pro-2nd Amendment advocacy;
`the 2nd Circuit held this as “government speech”).
`
`• Flores v. Bennett, 635 F.Supp.3d 1020 (E.D. Cal. 2022) (community college
`censored a conservative student group’s anti-communist, pro-life flyers; the
`college claimed it could do so under the “government speech” doctrine).
`
`• Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm’n, 584 U.S. 617 (2018)
`(State of Colorado compelled pro-LGBTQ speech from a cake-maker).
`
`• 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, 600 U.S. 570 (2023) (State of Colorado
`compelled pro-LGBTQ speech from a website maker).
`And this is just a handful of recently reported cases. Other examples
`abound. See, e.g., <https://pen.org/conservative-commentator-bill-oreilly-hits-
`the-roof-over-his-books-being-banned-in-florida/> (accessed Sept. 4, 2024);
`
`4
`
`

`

`Case: 23-50224 Document: 237-2 Page: 6 Date Filed: 09/08/2024
`
`
`
`<https://pen.org/2023-banned-book-list/> (accessed Sept. 4, 2024) (listing
`books—including Bible stories—that have been banned from libraries).
`Under the “government speech” argument, libraries in Left-leaning
`locales would no doubt remove or sequester conservative material. This would
`hinder curious patrons seeking ideas that challenge Left-wing orthodoxy; it
`would also hurt homeschoolers who rely on public libraries to supplement
`their curriculum.
`
`* * *
`For these reasons, Mr. Meadors respectfully asks this Court to bear in
`mind that, were Llano County to win the case at bar, the political Left would
`use the holding as an additional tool to suppress conservative ideas.
`
`Respectfully,
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`/s/ Brian Meadors
`Brian Meadors
`1930 W Oak Shadows Cir
`Memphis, TN 38119
`(980) 867-1371
`brianmeadors@gmail.com
`
`
`5
`
`

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`Case: 23-50224 Document: 237-2 Page: 7 Date Filed: 09/08/2024
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`
`
`CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
`I certify that I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of the
`Court for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by using the
`appellate CM/ECF system. I further certify that all participants in the case are
`registered CM/ECF users and that service will be accomplished by the
`appellate CM/ECF system.
`
`
`/s/ Brian Meadors
`Brian Meadors
`1930 W Oak Shadows Cir
`Memphis, TN 38119
`(980) 867-1371
`brianmeadors@gmail.com
`
`CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
`This brief complies with the type-volume limitation of Fed. R. App. P.
`32(a)(7)(B) because it contains 548 words, excluding the parts of the brief
`exempted by Fed. R. App. P. 32(f). This brief also complies with the typeface
`requirements of Fed. R. App. P. 32(a)(5)(A) and the type style requirements of
`Fed. R. App. P. 32(a)(6) because it has been prepared in a proportionally spaced
`typeface using Microsoft Word in Hoefler Text font size 14.
`
`
`
`/s/ Brian Meadors
`Brian Meadors
`1930 W Oak Shadows Cir
`Memphis, TN 38119
`(980) 867-1371
`brianmeadors@gmail.com
`
`6
`
`

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