A&W Files First Amendment Commercial Speech Brief in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

A&W Files First Amendment Commercial Speech Brief in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

A&W attorneys Norm Dupont, Jeff Malawy, Cody Parker and Luis Vega filed a brief on behalf of their client, the City of Perris, with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The City passed two ordinances this past summer that regulated cannabis advertising on the I-215 freeway. Plaintiff Lamar Central Outdoor, LLC, which owns billboards, sued, claiming that the ordinances infringed on its right of free (commercial) speech under the First Amendment.

 

On behalf of the City, A&W lawyers argued that the District Court for the Central District of California erred in granting a preliminary injunction against two City ordinances that restrict the advertising of cannabis on Interstate 215 billboards.  Under U.S. Supreme Court decisions, a government is free to regulate commercial speech (such as advertising) if it touts an “illegal activity.”  The City argued that cannabis marketing and distribution is an illegal activity under controlling federal law, the Controlled Substances Act.

 

The plaintiff in the trial court, Lamar Central Outdoor, LLC, will file its opposition brief before the Court of Appeals by the end of February.  The Ninth Circuit will then schedule this case for oral argument.