Commercial Speech and the First Amendment

THIS CASEBOOK contains a selection of U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that analyze, interpret and discuss First Amendment commercial speech doctrine. * * * "The States and the Federal Government are free to prevent the dissemination of commercial speech that is false, deceptive, or misleading, or that proposes an illegal transaction. Commercial speech that is not false or deceptive and does not concern unlawful activities, however, may be restricted only in the service of a substantial governmental interest, and only through means that directly advance that interest." Id. at 638, 105 S.Ct. 2265 (citing Central Hudson, 447 U.S. at 566, 100 S.Ct. 2343) (other internal citations omitted).The regulation of commercial speech is subject to different levels of review, depending on the nature of the law. In Central Hudson, the Court established that a restriction on commercial speech is subject to intermediate scrutiny, that is, a determination of whether the restriction directly advances a substantial governmental interest and is not overly restrictive. 447 U.S. at 564, 100 S.Ct. 2343. In Zauderer, however, the Court created an exception that an informational disclosure law- as opposed to a prohibition on speech- was subject to rational review, that is, a determination of whether the required disclosure is reasonably related to the state's interest. 471 U.S. at 651, 105 S.Ct. 2265. Safelite Group, Inc. v. Jepsen, 764 F. 3d 258 (2nd Cir. 2014).