Llano County library suit plaintiffs petition for Supreme Court review
The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
The plaintiffs in an ongoing First Amendment lawsuit involving the Llano County Library System have officially petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case.
The petition, filed Sept. 11 by a group of Llano County residents and library users, comes after the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the case’s defendants in May, meaning 17 books that had been previously returned to the shelves of Llano County libraries were again removed. A ruling prior to this most recent one had determined it was unconstitutional to remove the books, which are mostly about race, gender, and sexuality.
LEARN MORE about the history of the case, the books, and the appeals court’s latest decision in the May 28 DailyTrib.com story “Appeals court reversal puts book decision back in Llano County’s hands.”
With the petition for a writ of certiorari filed, the defendants named in the civil suit, Leila Green Little, et al. v. Llano County, et al., have until Oct. 14 to either request an extension or file their rebuttal against the request for a Supreme Court hearing.
The suit’s defendants are Llano County Library System Director Amber Milam, Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham, current Llano County commissioners Jerry Don Moss, Peter Jones, and Linda Raschke, and former Commissioner Mike Sandoval.
Plaintiffs are Llano County residents Leila Green Little, Jeanne Puryear, Kathy Kennedy, Rebecca Jones, Richard Day, Cynthia Waring, and Diane Moster.
If accepted by the Supreme Court, the case would likely get a hearing in the spring of 2026. If the court were to deny the petition, the case would effectively be brought to a close, leaving the decision on what books can and cannot be on library shelves in the hands of Llano County officials.
READ the full petition for a writ of certiorari at this link.
CASE’S BACKGROUND
In December 2021, 17 books were removed from Llano County Library System shelves without any sort of official process. The books topics’ covered race and racism, sexuality and gender, and even farts. A group of county residents and library users filed a federal lawsuit in April 2022 against the county claiming their First and 14th amendment rights were violated.
In March 2023, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman sided with the plaintiffs, agreeing that the removal of the books was unconstitutional. He ordered the titles be put back on the shelves.
The defendants appealed Pitman’s decision to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. A panel of judges from that court mostly agreed with Pitman’s order, ruling that eight of the 17 books be returned to library shelves.
The Fifth Circuit Court’s decision was then appealed by the defendants, who requested the entire court, rather than a panel, hear the case. In May 2025, the full appeals court reversed the previous decision and ruled that Llano County officials had the right to decide what can and cannot be in the libraries.