Nike and the First Amendment
Written by Clark S. Judge
Appearing in "Hoover Digest" (Published December, 2003 :: Communications Questions)
In early
January, the Supreme Court announced that it would review what some have called
the most significant First Amendment case in a generation: Kasky v. Nike,
Inc. et al. (2002).
At the heart of this case is the long-debated distinction between commercial
and political speech now forced by a simple question: If speech is both
commercial and political, do federal or state governments have the power to
regulate it—and to shut it off?
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