Harry Potter and the Cedarville Censors: Inside the Precedent-Setting Defeat of an Arkansas Book Ban

by Brian Meadors

Overview

In 2002, the Cedarville School Board in Crawford County, Arkansas, ordered the removal of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books from library shelves, holding that "witchcraft or sorcery [should not] be available for study."

The Board picked some formidable adversaries. School librarian Estella Roberts, standing on policy, had the books reviewed--and unanimously approved--by a committee of teachers and administrators that included a child and a parent.

Not satisfied with the Board's half-measure permitting access to the books with parental approval, 4th-grader Dakota Counts and her father Bill Counts sued the school district in Federal court, drawing on the precedent Pico v. Island Trees to reaffirm that Constitutional rights apply to school libraries.

Written by the lawyer who prosecuted the case, this book details the origins of the book ban and the civil procedures and legal arguments that restored the First Amendment in Cedarville.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476635835
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	02/21/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	217
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Brian Meadors is a former U.S. Navy nuclear submarine officer. After his naval service, he attended Georgetown University Law Center, graduating cum laude. He practiced in Washington, DC, for a few years before moving to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he was a trial lawyer for ten years. He lives in Memphis, Tennessee.
Brian Meadors is a former U.S. Navy nuclear submarine officer. After his naval service, he attended Georgetown University Law Center, graduating cum laude. He practiced in Washington, DC, for a few years before moving to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he was a trial lawyer for ten years. He lives in Memphis, Tennessee.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
 1. An Inspirational Wednesday
 2. A Brief History of Harry Potter
 3. Legal Backstory: Gobitis & Barnette (Students Have
deleteConstitutional Rights)
 4. Estella Fights Back
 5. Legal Backstory: Tinker (Students Have a Right to Non-Disruptive Speech)
 6. School Boards
 7. Legal Backstory: Pico (Students’ Free Speech Rights
deleteApply to School Libraries)
 8. Like Magic, a Client Appears
 9. Intolerant of Tolerance
10. Adversaries and Allies
11. Legal Backstory: Sund (Hiding a Library Book Is the Same as Censoring It)
12. Building the Case
13. “There are schools of magic”
14. Dakota Counts
15. The Expert
16. Legal Backstory: Bystrom (8th Circuit Adopts the Pico Plurality)
17. Summary Judgment
18. Carrot and Stick
19. The Fruit of the Litigation Tree
Appendix: Judge Hendren’s Opinion (Counts v. Cedarville School District, 295 F.Supp.2d 996 [2003])
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"An engaging read that documents the twists and turns of an ultimately unsuccessful book challenge to the first two Harry Potter books.... Meadors does a satisfying job of setting the scene... [He] provides surprisingly sympathetic portrayals of the primary players... He's particularly effective at explaining court procedures, taking the time to ensure that readers can fully enjoy the happy, precedent-setting ending. The title will draw in book lovers, and the narrative will keep them reading through to the gratifying conclusion."--Booklist

From the Publisher