Supreme Court Decisions and Freedom of Speech

Freedom of speech has been one of the most appreciated and valuable rights given to the citizens of this country. It has gone through many changes. These changes have been designed to not only benefit the greater society but also strike balance. The United States Supreme Court has expanded the use of this right to commercial entities. Commercial speech has been viewed as a limited right from its inception. Commercial speech has been challenged in different cases. The issue in Kasky v. Nike, Inc., 27 Cal.4th 939 (2002), is that can a commercial entity use this right to disseminate misleading and deceptive information regarding its labor practices in other countries? According to the United States Supreme Court, commercial entities have "limited commercial speech" rights that receive Constitutional protection.

This Note will analyze the Kasky v. Nike, Inc (hereafter Nike) case. The first part will cover the historical development of the commercial speech. The second part will analyze historical development of commercial speech. The analysis then will dissect the majority's view. Then there will be an analysis on the dissent thoughts. At the end, there will be a discussion on commercial speech. This discussion will analyze the social benefits of limiting commercial speech.

I Creation of Freedom of Commercial Speech

The importance of freedom of expression can be found in The United States Constit

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ceptive information is unacceptable. The majority does not entertain any other options or choices. It firmly believes that society does not tolerate deceptive information regardless of who the disseminator is and what type of economic sanctions may society bear if the disseminator stops its operation. In Bigelow, the Supreme Court holds, "Regardless of particular label asserted by the state whether it calls speech 'commercial' or 'commercial advertising' or 'solicitation' a court may not escape the task of assessing the First Amendment interest at stake and weighing it against the public interest allegedly served by the regulation." Id., at 826. The Court derives its conclusion based on what the society is ready and willing to accept. If the society is ready to ignore the facts and accept the misleading information for economic gain, it will have carved a different interpretation to fit the demands of the society. Societal interest and willingness to accept change is a key factor when a decision is handed down. In Bigelow, the Court Holds. "Advertising, like all public expression, may be subject to reasonable regulation that serves a legitimate public interest." Id., at 826. The society does care about the economic benefit

Category: Government - S