In their appeal, government lawyers said the federal law was needed to halt the trade in dog-fighting videos. "Depictions of animal cruelty . . . are unworthy of 1st Amendment protection," they said. Arguments are scheduled for the fall.
In another case, the court agreed to rule on whether prosecutors can be sued for "manufacturing and fabricating" evidence used to convict a defendant.
In the past, the justices have said prosecutors are immune from being sued for their actions in courts. But a judge in Iowa said it was a different matter if prosecutors were involved in manufacturing evidence.
The ruling came in the case of two men who were convicted of the murder of a security guard, but later freed. They then sued the two former county attorneys for presenting false evidence against them.
A federal appeals court rejected a request to throw out the suit, but the high court said Monday it would hear the prosecutors' claim of immunity.
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david.savage@latimes.com
