Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court has struck down a federal law designed to stop the sale and marketing of videos showing dogfights and other acts of animal cruelty, saying it is an unconstitutional violation of free speech. The 8-1 decision was a defeat for animal rights groups and congressional sponsors of the unusual legislation. The specific case before the court dealt with tapes showing pit bulldogs attacking other animals and one another in staged confrontations. The justices Tuesday concluded the scope and intent of the decade-old statute was overly broad. "The First Amendment itself reflects a judgment by the American people that the benefits of its restrictions on the government outweigh its costs," said Chief Justice John Roberts. He concluded Congress had not sufficiently shown "depictions" of dogfighting were enough to justify a special category of exclusion from free speech protection.
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Justices say banning the videos is an unconstitutional violation of free speech
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Court threw out conviction of Robert Stevens who sold videos
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Stevens was charged in 2004 with selling depictions of animal cruelty
"This is what I was hoping for," @placeholder told CNN just after the ruling was announced.