A U.S. appeals court is reviewing its previous order to put banned books back on shelves in Texas

NEW ORLEANS – A federal appeals court in New Orleans is re-examining its own order requiring a Texas county to keep eight books on public library shelves that address topics such as sex, gender identity and racism.

Llano County officials had removed 17 books from shelves after complaints about the issue. Seven library patrons filed a lawsuit against county officials claiming the books were removed illegally. A U.S. district judge ruled last year that the books must be returned.

On June 6, a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals divided the case, ordering that eight of the books remain on the shelves but nine others should not be allowed to remain on the shelves.

That order was lifted Wednesday night after a majority of the 17-member court granted Llano County officials a new hearing before the full court. The order did not provide any reasons, and the hearing has not yet been scheduled.

In his 2023 ruling, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, who was nominated to the federal judgeship by former President Barack Obama, ruled that the library plaintiffs had shown that Llano officials were “driven by their dislike of the ideas in the banned books.” The works ranged from children’s books to award-winning nonfiction, including “They Called Themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti and “It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health” by Robie Harris.

Pitman’s ruling was largely upheld by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled on June 6. The lead opinion came from Judge Jacques Wiener, who was nominated to the court by former President George HW Bush. Wiener said the books appeared to have been removed at the behest of district officials who disagreed with the books’ message.

Judge Leslie Southwick, a nominee of former President George W. Bush, largely agreed but said some of the deletions could withstand judicial review later in the case. She pointed out that some of the books dealt with “puerile, overblown humor” rather than weightier issues.

Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, a nominee of former President Donald Trump, dissented entirely, saying his colleagues “have appointed themselves co-chairs of all public library boards in the Fifth Circuit.”

The judicial district includes federal courts in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.