As video games have surged in popularity in recent years,politicians around the country have tried to outlaw the sale of someviolent games to children. So far all such efforts have failed.

Citing the Constitution’sprotection of free speech, federal judges have rejected attempts toregulate video games in eight cities and states since 2001. The judgein a ninth place, Oklahoma, has temporarily blocked a law pending afinal decision. No such laws have been upheld.

The latest stateto have its tentative game regulations stymied by a judge’sinterpretation of the First Amendment is California. This month afederal judge in San Jose, Ronald M. Whyte, declared unconstitutional a2005 bill that would have made it a crime to sell or rent certainviolent games to minors in that state.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggerof California has said he plans to appeal the ruling, but he is merelythe latest in a line of politicians whose attempts to regulate videogames have been frustrated by federal courts. “It’s more than a trend,”said Ronald Collins, a scholar at the First Amendment Center inWashington. “It seems the cases are moving uniformly down the sametrack, and that is that such laws are unconstitutional. Such