A federal judge has shielded Escambia County School Board members from having to testify in a legal battle about the removal of children’s books from school libraries.
United States Magistrate Judge Zachary C. Bolitho on Friday issued a 15-page order agreeing with the school board that members do not have to give depositions because of what is known as “legislative privilege.”
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include parents, authors, the publishing company Penguin Random House and the free speech group PEN American Center, Inc. The plaintiffs’ lawyers sought to question board members about their reasons for removing the books. Pointing to previous court rulings, Bolitho’s decision in part said that the school board’s decision to remove or restrict access to books “bore all the hallmarks of traditional legislation.”
