On August 31, 2020, the ACLU of Kansas and the ACLU of Utah filed an amicus brief in Animal Legal Defense Fund, Center for Food Safety, Shy 38 Inc., and Hope Sanctuary v. Laura Kelly and Derek Schmidt challenging Kansas’ “Ag-Gag” law in the 10th Circuit, after the State had appealed a lower court decision.
The Kansas Farm Animal and Field Crop and Research Facilities Protection Act ("the Act") broadly infringed on and had a chilling effect on workers’ First Amendment rights by criminalizing and prohibiting access for undercover investigations and whistleblowing at agricultural facilities.
In August 2021, the 10th Circuit ruled in favor of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Center for Food Sanctuary, Shy 38, and Hope Sanctuary, upholding the district court's rulings that the provisions were unconstitutional under the First Amendment. The 10th Circuit Court held that the Act's subsections (b), (c), and (d) were viewpoint discriminatory and overbroad and that the State of Kansas had failed to satisfy strict scrutiny as required.
