10th Circuit Reaffirms Motion to Dismiss in Utah Age-Verification Case

In a 2-1 split decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit affirmed a district court’s motion to dismiss Free Speech Coalition v. Anderson, the Utah age-verification lawsuit. The 10th Circuit’s ruling did not consider the merits of the underlying case challenging the constitutionality of the age-verification law, but rather focused on whether state actors were responsible for the enforcement of the Utah law.

The court’s majority ruled that the suit could not be brought against Utah’s Attorney General and its Commissioner of Public Safety, ruling that they are not involved in the enforcement of the law. The Utah age verification mandate ostensibly relies on citizens to enforce the law by filing private civil suits, but the Free Speech Coalition argued that Utah officials connected with the implementation of the state’s digital identification card, and the defense of the law in general, were also closely tied to enforcement of the law.

In an impassioned and well-reasoned dissent, Judge Phillips reached the opposite conclusion that would have allowed the case to continue against the Commissioner.

“We are disappointed with the majority’s ruling and we will continue to argue our case that state actors are ultimately responsible for the enforcement of these laws,” says Alison Boden, Executive Director of Free Speech Coalition. “These laws were designed to be difficult to challenge and designed to have a chilling effect on our First Amendment rights. We will continue the fight to hold the state accountable for the laws it has passed.”