ANIMAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Counterpunch, Amy Meyer, Will Postter, Daniel Hauff, James McWilliams, and Jesse Fruhwirth, Plaintiffs, v. Gary R. HERBERT, in his official capacity as Governor of Utah; John Swallow, in his official capacity as Attorney General of Utah, Defendants.

Summary: The Animal Legal Defense Fund and other plaintiffs challenged Utah Code Ann. § 76-6-112, which criminalizes recording images or sounds at industrialized farming operations, and entering industrialized farming operations by false pretenses or misrepresentation. The Plaintiffs alleged that § 76-6-112 violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Defendants moved to dismiss on the grounds that the Plaintiffs had not suffered actual harm, and thus did not have standing. The U.S. District Court Judge dismissed some Plaintiffs from the case, but allowed it to move forward.