14 DAY TRIAL // The Entertainment Software Association, an organization that works to represent the interest of the video game industry, has issued a statement in which it reacts to the news that Justice Antonin Scalia has passed away in his sleep while on a hunting trip in Texas.
The ESA praises his work on the majority opinion which uses the First Amendment to protect the medium from a California law that sought to place limits on their sale based on the level of violence.
The official statement explains "He declared, with no ambiguity, that video games, like books, movies and other forms of expression, are deserving of First Amendment protections. It was a momentous day for our industry and those who love the entertainment we create, and we are indebted to Justice Scalia for so eloquently defending the rights of creators and consumer everywhere."
In 2005, the state of California enacted a law that banned the sale of violent video game to minors who were not supervised at the time by a parent, generating a legal challenge on the part of the video game industry.
The case was decided in 2011 when the Supreme Court of the United States decided that both the First and the Fourteenth Amendment make the law unconstitutional.
Justices Ginsburg, Kennedy, Sotomayor, and Kagan supported the opinion that Antonin Scalia wrote, which states that violence is not obscene speech and that video games are no worst in this respect than other forms of media, including some of the stories that children have wide access to.
Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John G. Roberts wrote a separate opinion which suggests that the question of the impact of violence on minors might need to be re-examined at some point in the future while Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer dissented.
It's unclear when Antonin Scalia will get a replacement
President Obama has expressed his sympathies shortly after the death of the Justice was announced and said that he intends to use his power to nominate a replacement as soon as possible, but the leaders of the Republican party have said that the issue should be delayed until a new president is elected and sworn in.
The issue of Scalia's legacy will become an important one during the coming primary season for both Democrats and Republicans and will also be important once both parties settle on a candidate for the November elections.
The issue of violence has been less present in the public space recently, but there are plenty of groups and local legislators who are interested in placing restrictions on sales based on content.
It's entirely possible that a new Supreme Court line-up might have to deal with another case linked to the issue during the coming years, so the replacement that's nominated and confirmed by the Senate is important for the video game industry.
The Entertainment Software Association will probably be once again part of the process if a law that limits video games sales is introduced and should monitor the process that leads to the appointment of a new Justice.