The U.S. Supreme Court rejected North Carolina’s plea to revive parts of a state law that had faced opposition from animal rights and environmental groups.
The Fourth Circuit’s Ruling Challenged
North Carolina, in collaboration with the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, had requested the Supreme Court to revisit the Fourth Circuit’s decision that had blocked the law’s enforcement related to “newsgathering activities.” However, the high court upheld the appeals court’s verdict.
Protecting Whistleblower Investigations
The 2015 Property Protection Act aimed to prevent employees from gathering or recording information without authorization and using it to breach their “duty of loyalty to their employer.” While the Fourth Circuit upheld these prohibitions, it exempted employees engaged in “newsgathering” activities, asserting that such restrictions violated the First Amendment.
First Amendment Scrutiny
The state contended that audiovisual recording on public property should be constitutionally protected speech subject to heightened First Amendment scrutiny. Still, it should not apply when employees record on their employer’s “nonpublic property” without authorization and breach their “duty of loyalty.”
Unprecedented Extension of First Amendment Protections
The North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation claimed that the Fourth Circuit extended First Amendment protections inappropriately and insulated newsgathering activities from laws applying to everyone. This decision was said to conflict with rulings from other circuits.
Rights of Animal Welfare Advocates
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other advocacy groups initiated a lawsuit against the state in 2016. They contended that the law unjustly suppressed their rights to conduct undercover animal-cruelty investigations and publicize their findings.
A Broader Issue
The battle over so-called ag-gag laws has extended to other states. The Eighth Circuit is reviewing “a ruling on an Iowa statute that criminalized recording on “trespassed property.” Furthermore, the U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to review a Kansas law designed to penalize undercover animal cruelty investigations on factory farms.
Legal Representation
PETA and affiliated groups are represented by David S. Muraskin of Public Justice, Alan K. Chen of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and Matthew Strugar. North Carolina’s representation comes from Joshua H. Stein, Ryan Y. Park, Nicholas S. Brod, Sripriya Narasimhan, and Matthew T. Tulchin of the North Carolina Department of Justice. The North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation is represented by Brett E. Legner and Timothy S. Bishop of Mayer Brown LLP, with in-house counsel Phillip J. Parker Jr.
In Summary
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision maintains the Fourth Circuit’s position on North Carolina’s Property Protection Act, marking a win for animal rights and whistleblower protection advocates.
