Campus newspaper loses bid for high court review of ad rules
By freedomforum.org,
The Associated Press
01.25.01
The Supreme Court last week rejected a student newspaper's challenge to a Pennsylvania law that bans beer, liquor and bar ads in campus publications.
Without comment, the justices refused to hear an appeal by The Pitt News at the University of Pittsburgh, which claimed the 1996 law violated its First Amendment rights.
Under the law, publications related to educational institutions — including newspapers, yearbooks and sports programs — cannot run advertisements that list the prices of, or otherwise promote, alcoholic drinks. The same sanctions apply to college radio and television stations.
The law does allow ads that give the names and addresses of bars, clubs and restaurants that serve alcohol.
Those who place the proscribed ads are subject to fines from $100 to $500 or up to three months in jail for a first offense.
The state Liquor Control Board says the law is a way to fight underage drinking.
But the newspaper argued that the law singles out a class of newspapers and is therefore in violation of constitutional guarantees of free speech. The paper also said the law cuts off a source of revenue, effectively restricting the amount of news it can publish and threatening its ability to purchase new equipment and make renovations to its facilities.
The paper lost its case in federal court in Pittsburgh and on appeal before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The American Civil Liberties Union had argued on behalf of the newspaper.