Case: 12-57302, 05/18/2015, ID: 9540348, DktEntry: 197-1, Page 31 of 42
GARCIA V. GOOGLE
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charged on both sides to boot. Because the risk of making
bad law in these circumstances is particularly high, we should
aim to decide as narrowly as we can, leaving the task of
crafting broad new rules for a case in which it is actually
necessary to do so. See Frederick Schauer, Do Cases Make
Bad Law?, 73 U. Chi. L. Rev. 883, 916 (2006).
Had we chosen to decide narrowly here, we could have
affirmed the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction
by focusing solely on the irreparable harm prong. Garcia
bore the burden of showing that “irreparable injury is likely
in the absence of” the requested injunction. Winter v. Natural
Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 22 (2008). The only form
of injury Garcia has alleged that could qualify as irreparable
is the risk of death she faces as a result of the fatwa issued
against her. Unlike the majority, I’m willing to assume that
the risk of death qualifies as irreparable injury in this context.
But under our decision in Perfect 10, Inc. v. Google, Inc.,
653 F.3d 976 (9th Cir. 2011), Garcia also had to prove a
“causal connection” between the irreparable injury she faces
and the conduct she hopes to enjoin. Id. at 982. In other
words, she had to show that removing the film from YouTube
would likely eliminate (or at least materially reduce) the risk
of death posed by issuance of the fatwa.
The district court did not abuse its discretion by
concluding, albeit for reasons different from those I offer
here, that Garcia failed to satisfy the irreparable harm prong.
The sad but unfortunate truth is that the threat posed to Garcia
by issuance of the fatwa will remain whether The Innocence
of Muslims is available on YouTube or not. Garcia is subject
to the fatwa because of her role in making the film, not
because the film is available on YouTube. The film will
undoubtedly remain accessible on the Internet for all who
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