X

No. 08-1448
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In The
Supreme Court of the United States
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ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the
State of California, and EDMUND G. BROWN Jr.,
Attorney General of the State of California,
Petitioners,
v.
ENTERTAINMENT MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION
and ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSOCIATION,
Respondents.
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On Writ Of Certiorari To The United States
Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit
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PETITIONERS’ BRIEF
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CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY
EDMUND G. BROWN JR.
GENERAL’S OFFICE
Attorney General
1300 I Street, Suite 125
of California
P.O. Box 944255
DAVID S. CHANEY
Sacramento, CA 94244
Chief Assistant
(916) 445-8226
Attorney General
Zackery.Morazzini@doj.ca.gov
GORDON BURNS
Counsel for Petitioners
Deputy Solicitor General
JONATHAN K. RENNER
Senior Assistant
Attorney General
ZACKERY P. MORAZZINI
Counsel of Record
Supervising Deputy
Attorney General
DANIEL J. POWELL
Deputy Attorney General
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COCKLE LAW BRIEF PRINTING CO. (800) 225-6964
OR CALL COLLECT (402) 342-2831

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i

QUESTIONS PRESENTED


California Civil Code sections 1746-1746.5 pro-
hibit the sale of violent video games to minors under
18 where a reasonable person would find that the
violent content appeals to a deviant or morbid
interest of minors, is patently offensive to prevailing
community standards as to what is suitable for
minors, and causes the game as a whole to lack
serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value
for minors. The respondent industry groups chal-
lenged this prohibition on its face as violating the
Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. The
court of appeals affirmed the district court’s judgment
permanently enjoining enforcement of the prohibi-
tion. The questions presented are:

1. Does the First Amendment bar a state from
restricting the sale of violent video games to minors?

2. If the First Amendment applies to violent
video games that are sold to minors, and the standard
of review is strict scrutiny, under Turner Broad-
casting System, Inc. v. FCC, 512 U.S. 622, 666 (1994),
is the State required to demonstrate a direct causal
link between violent video games and physical and
psychological harm to minors before the State can
prohibit the sale of the games to minors?

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ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
OPINIONS BELOW .............................................
1
JURISDICTION ...................................................
1
CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY PRO-
VISIONS INVOLVED .......................................
1
STATEMENT .......................................................
2
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT ..............................
6
ARGUMENT ........................................................ 12
I.


THE FIRST
AMENDMENT PERMITS
STATES TO RESTRICT THE SALE OF
OFFENSIVELY VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES
TO MINORS .............................................. 12
A.
The First Amendment Allows the
Government to Enact Restrictions
That Prevent Harm to Children and
Enable Parents to Guide Their
Children’s Upbringing ......................... 14
B. The Ginsberg Standard Strikes the
Proper Balance Between Minors’
Rights and the States’ Interest in
Helping Parents Direct the Up-
bringing of Their Children .................. 28
C. The Act Properly Reinforces Parental
Authority Over Minors, and Com-
ports With Both the Traditional and
the Present Understanding of the
First Amendment Rights of Minors .... 38

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iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS – Continued
Page
1. The Act Serves Fundamental Soci-
etal Interests .................................. 38
2. Advancements in Technology and
Social Science Reaffirm Society’s
Long-Standing Concerns With Mi-
nors’ Exposure to Violent Mate-
rial .................................................. 42
3. Respondents’ Own System of Self-
Regulation Recognizes That Certain
Video Games Are Not Appropriate
for Minors Given the Level of
Violent Content ............................... 45
II.

THE FIRST AMENDMENT DOES NOT
DEMAND PROOF OF A DIRECT CAUS-
AL LINK BETWEEN EXPOSURE TO
VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES AND HARM
TO MINORS .............................................. 48
III. THE ACT IS THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE
MEANS OF SERVING THE STATE’S
COMPELLING INTERESTS ..................... 56
CONCLUSION ..................................................... 59

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iv

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Page
CASES:
Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union, 542
U.S. 656 (2004) ........................................................ 58
Belotti v. Baird, 443 U.S. 622 (1979) ............. 23, 24, 25
Bethel School Dist. No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 U.S.
675 (1986) .......................................................... 20, 21
Board of Education v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982) ....... 21
Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568
(1942) ................................................................. 33, 40
City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, 473
U.S. 432 (1985) ........................................................ 22
Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville, 422 U.S. 205
(1975) ....................................................................... 15
FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., 129 S. Ct.
1800 (2009) .................................................. 49, 50, 51
FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726
(1978) ............................................... 14, 19, 20, 30, 36
Fullilove v. Klutznick, 448 U.S. 448 (1980) ............... 29
Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U.S. 629 (1968) ....... passim
Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 652 (1925) ..................... 1
Graham v. Florida, 130 S. Ct. 2011 (2010) .......... 26, 27
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484
U.S. 260 (1988) ........................................................ 20
Manual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day, 370 U.S. 478
(1962) ....................................................................... 32

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v

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES – Continued
Page
May v. Anderson, 345 U.S. 528 (1953) ....................... 23
Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973) ......... 28, 30, 33
Morse v. Frederick, 551 U.S. 393 (2007) .................... 21
Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton, 413 U.S. 49
(1973) ....................................................................... 31
Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925) ........ 24
Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158 (1944) ..... 18, 22
Regina v. Hicklin, (1868) L.R. 3 Q.B. 360 .................. 32
Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005) ......... 25, 26, 27
Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476 (1957) ... 30, 32, 33
State v. Reece, 110 Wash. 2d 766 (1988) .................... 37
State v. Settle, 90 R.I. 195 (1959) ............................... 35
Tinker v. Des Moines School Dist., 393 U.S. 503
(1969) ........................................................... 15, 20, 21
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. FCC, 512
U.S. 622 (1994) ................................ 48, 50, 51, 52, 56
United States v. Stevens, 130 S.
Ct. 1577
(2010) ................................................................. 13, 14
United States v. Williams, 553 U.S. 286 (2008) ......... 33
Veronica School Dist. 47J v. Acon, 515 U.S. 646
(1995) ....................................................................... 20
Winters v. New York, 333 U.S. 507 (1948) .................. 42
Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972) ............... 24, 25

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vi

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES – Continued
Page
CONSTITUTION AND STATUTES:
U.S. Const.:
Amend. I (Free Speech Clause) ...................... passim
Amend.
IV
...............................................................
20
Amend.
XIV
.........................................................
1, 20
Amend.
XXVI
..........................................................
22
Cal. Civ. Code
§ 1746.5 .................................................................... 39
§§
1746-1746.5 ....................................................... 1, 2
Cal. Code Civ. Proc.
§ 197 ........................................................................ 23
Cal. Fam. Code
§ 301 ........................................................................ 22
Cal. Penal Code
§ 308(b) .................................................................... 23
§
313
........................................................................
23
§
313.1......................................................................
23
§
313.2......................................................................
23
§
326.5(e)
.................................................................
23
§
893
........................................................................
23
Cal. Prob. Code
§ 6220....................................................................... 23
Cal. Veh. Code
§ 12515..................................................................... 23
§
12516.....................................................................
23
City-County Council of the City of Indianapolis
and Marion County General Ordinance No.
72 (July 10, 2000) .................................................... 34

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vii

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES – Continued
Page
D.C. Code
§ 46-411 .................................................................... 23
Ga. Code Ann.
§ 16-12-80(b)(3)(E) .................................................. 37
Ill. Act June 3, 1889, p. 114 ........................................ 34
Ill. Comp. Stat.
720 Comp. Stat. 670/1 ............................................. 34
Ill. Crim. Stats.
5/12A-5(a) ................................................................ 34
5/12A-10(e)
..............................................................
34
5/12B-15
................................................................... 34
Laws of Mass.
Chapter 33 (1789) ................................................... 32
La. Rev. Stat.
§ 14:91.14 ................................................................. 34
§
14:106(a)(6) ........................................................... 37
Mich. Penal Code
Act 260 of 1881, § 5, How. § 2002 ........................... 34
Act 328 of 1931, § 750.142 ...................................... 34
Mich. Pub. Acts
108 (2005) ................................................................ 34
Minn. Stats.
§ 325I.06 .................................................................. 34
N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law
§ 7 ............................................................................ 23
Ohio Rev. Code
§ 2905.34 (1963 Supp.) ............................................ 34

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viii

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES – Continued
Page
§
2907.01(E)(3) ........................................................ 35
§
2907.01(F)(3) ........................................................ 37
Okla. Stat.
Tit. 21 §§ 1040.76-.77 .............................................. 34
Pa. Stat.
Tit. 18 § 4524 ........................................................... 36
Tit. 23 § 1304 ........................................................... 22
R.I. Public Law
1956, chap. 3686 ...................................................... 35
St. Louis Co. Ord.
No. 20,193 (Oct. 26, 2000) ....................................... 35
Tariff Act of 1842 ........................................................ 32
Tenn. Code Ann.
§ 39-17-901 .............................................................. 35
United States Code
28 U.S.C. § 1254(1) ................................................... 1
United States Statutes at Large
13 Stat. 504, 507 (1865) .......................................... 33
Wash. Rev. Codes
§ 9.91.180 ................................................................. 34

MISCELLANEOUS:
Entertainment Software Rating Board, Fre-
quently Asked Questions http://www.esrb.org/
ratings/faq.jsp ......................................................... 58
http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?t=
357331 ..................................................................... 58

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ix

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES – Continued
Page
Kevin W. Saunders, Violence as Obscenity
(1996) ....................................................................... 33
Laurence H. Tribe, AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL
LAW, Chapter 12, n. 15 (2d ed. 1988) ...................... 33
Robert Janelle, Video Game Realism (Sept. 5,
2007) (last visited July 6, 2010) ............................. 43

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