On June 6, 2002, the Louisiana Court of Appeals upheld a District Court decision granting summary judgment in favor of defendants, the director and producers of the film Natural Born Killers. The court found that, contrary to plaintiffs' claims, "nothing in [the film] constitutes incitement," and therefore it is protected speech. 

The suit was brought in the Louisiana trial court by a victim of a shooting spree, alleging that the movie director and the companies involved in the creation and production of Natural Born Killers played a role in the crime. Plaintiffs claimed that the injuries were inflicted as part of a crime spree by people who had viewed the film repeatedly in Oklahoma while under the influence of mind-altering drugs. Plaintiffs alleged that the crime spree was inspired by the film and that the defendants knew, intended, were substantially certain or would have known that the distribution of the film would cause persons such as the assailants to commence a crime spree shortly after repeated viewing of the film.

The trial court dismissed the complaint, but the Louisiana Court of Appeal reversed, finding that the complaint stated a cause of action. The Louisiana Supreme Court refused to hear the case and a petition for certiorari was filed, which was denied. The case went back to the trial court, where the summary judgment was granted to defendants.

Plaintiffs' appeal will be heard on April 10 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.