Manipulating the Law: Dismantling the Miller Test and Exploiting the “Government Speech” Doctri
State-level legislation in 2026 is misusing legal concepts to make it easier to ban books in public schools and libraries. These concepts include the Miller Test and the “government speech” doctrine. The Miller Test defines obscenity, which is a type of speech not protected by the First Amendment. The test determines obscenity based on whether the average person, applying community standards, would find the matter as a whole appeals to prurient interests and depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive way. It also considers whether a reasonable person would find that the matter, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
- In 2026, some of the biggest trends in state-level legislation targeting books and libraries misuse two legal concepts to make it easier to ban books in public schools and public libraries.
- The first is the Miller Test. The second, the “government speech” doctrine.
- The types of speech that the First Amendment doesn’t protect are few and far between – a basic benchmark of democracies is that they don’t do censorship.
📚 BookAddict’s Take: If you work in a library or school, understanding the nuances of the Miller Test is crucial for defending intellectual freedom against legislative overreach.
Source: Book Riot |
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