Botkin Chiarello Calaf’s own Katherine Chiarello was recently profiled in Trinity University’s alumni publication for her work in the landmark First Amendment lawsuit challenging the removal of certain disfavored books at Llano County public libraries—including non-fiction books about LGBTQ issues and American history, such as “Caste” by Isabel Wilkerson, “They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, and the Caldecott award-winning children’s classic book “In the Night Kitchen” by Maurice Sendak.

Katherine, who earned her undergraduate degree from Trinity, is part of the legal team representing seven Llano County library patrons’ First Amendment challenge to their library’s removal of 17 books — many of them nationally acclaimed — that county officials deemed inappropriate. The lawsuit has been winding its way through the federal courts for more than two years. A federal court in March 2023 issued a preliminary injunction barring county officials from removing the books from library shelves. Katherine successfully argued the case on appeal before a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in June 2023.  Since then, the appellate court vacated the decision and ordered the case be heard en banc in September. A decision is pending.

As Katherine explained in the article, in addition to the crucial First Amendment issues, the lawsuit raises an important social issue.

“Trinity didn’t teach me what to think.  It taught me how to think,” Chiarello continues.  “And we think that’s important for all members of the community. The public library is a place where the First Amendment protects your right to have wide access to different ideas, because the library shouldn’t tell you what to think—it should help you figure out how to think.”

The suit is Leila Green Little, et al. v. Llano County, et al., No. 1:22-cv-00424-RP. In addition to Katherine, the Botkin Chiarello Calaf team consists of name partners Ryan Botkin and María Amelia Calaf and of counsel Kayna Levy. The clients are also represented by Noah Hagey, Matthew Borden, Marissa R. Benavides, and Kory James DeClark of BraunHagey & Borden LLP.