PEN America has joined the Free Our Art coalition in supporting the reintroduction of federal legislation that would restrict the use of artistic works—including literature and poetry—as evidence in criminal and civil court proceedings.
The Restoring Artistic Protection Act (RAP Act) represents the first federal-level attempt to establish limits on prosecutors' ability to use songs, novels, screenplays, and other creative works against their creators in court. The legislation builds on a prior bill initially introduced in 2017.
Under the proposed law, prosecutors could still admit creative works as evidence, but only under specific circumstances determined at a hearing conducted without jury presence. The bill aims to establish what supporters describe as First Amendment protections for artists across various creative disciplines.
"PEN America welcomes re-introduction of the Restoring Artistic Protection Act (RAP Act) to defend the First Amendment rights of artists against wrongful prosecution based on the biased use of their words—whether as lyrics or dialogue in films and plays, or in novels—as evidence," Hadar Harris, managing director of PEN America's Washington office, said in a statement.
Harris emphasized concerns about the disproportionate impact on certain communities. "Using song lyrics, fiction writing or other forms of art in criminal proceedings as alleged evidence of wrongdoing is completely antithetical to our tradition of free expression and our constitutional protections of free speech," Harris said. "It is an effort to weaponize free speech, the burden of which disproportionately impacts Black and brown communities who embrace a particular art form and poetic expression."
The legislation comes as appeals courts in Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas have overturned convictions based on the admission of lyrics as evidence in criminal cases over the past 18 months. Research has identified more than 820 cases nationwide where creative works have been used in court proceedings against their creators.
Harris connected the legislation to broader concerns about current political developments. "Protecting song lyrics and other forms of art from weaponization seems important in new ways in this era of democratic backsliding when culture is in the crosshairs and free speech is being used to detain and deport people on the basis of their free expression," Harris said.
The bill has garnered support from music and film industry organizations, as well as arts advocacy groups including Americans for the Arts and SAG-AFTRA. PEN America cited the use of artificial intelligence to search creative works as adding urgency to the legislation's passage.
