Court blocks California ban on using Assembly video in political ads

My co-counsel Brad Benbrook reports that Judge Morrison England has granted our request for a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of Cal. Gov. Code § 9026.5 against our clients (the Firearms Policy Coalition and others).

Section 9026.5 makes it a crime to rebroadcast televised California Assembly proceedings "for any political or commercial purpose, including, but not limited to, any campaign for elective public office or any campaign supporting or opposing a ballot proposition submitted to the electors." (The statute largely excludes "[t]he use of any television signal generated by the Assembly by an accredited news organization or any nonprofit organization for educational or public affairs programming.") We argued that § 9026.5 violates the First Amendment, and the judge agreed; we expect a written order in a few days.

For more on the case, see this post and this one.