The Supreme Court struck down a US law aimed at banning videos that show graphic violence against animals, saying it violates the US constitutional right to free speech.
The justices, voting eight to one, threw out the criminal conviction of Robert Stevens, who was sentenced to three years in prison for videos he made about pit bull fights.
The law was enacted in 1999 to limit internet sales of so-called crush videos, which appeal to a certain sexual fetish by showing women crushing to death small animals with their bare feet or high-heeled shoes.
Videos 'go too far'
The videos virtually disappeared once the measure became law, the government argued.
But Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said the law goes too far, suggesting that a measure limited to crush videos might be valid.
Animal cruelty and dog fighting already are illegal throughout the US
In dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said the harm animals suffer in dogfights is enough to sustain the law.
Obama administration for video ban
Alito said the ruling probably will spur new crush videos because it has "the practical effect of legalising the sale of such videos."
Animal rights groups, including the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and 26 states joined the Obama administration in support of the law.
The government sought a ruling that treated videos showing animal cruelty like child pornography, not entitled to constitutional protection.
But Roberts said the law could be read to allow the prosecution of the producers of films about hunting.
'Unconstitutional statute'
And he scoffed at the administration's assurances that it would only apply the law to depictions of extreme cruelty.
"But the First Amendment protects against the government," Roberts said, referring to the US Constitution.
"We would not uphold an unconstitutional statute merely because the government promised to use it responsibly."
Stevens ran a business and website that sold videos of pit bull fights. He is among a handful of people prosecuted under the animal cruelty law.
He noted in court papers that his sentence was 14 months longer than professional football player Michael Vick's prison term for running a dogfighting ring.
