R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Shewry
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
423 F.3d 906 (2005)
- Written by Haley Gintis, JD
Facts
In 1988 the state of California enacted the Tobacco Tax and Health Protection Act, which imposed a 25-cent excise tax on sales of packs of cigarettes. The state used the excise-tax revenue to create government advertisements against the tobacco industry. In response to the advertisements, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and other tobacco companies (collectively, the tobacco companies) (plaintiffs) filed an action in federal district court against the director of the California Department of Health Services, Sandra Shewry (the department) (defendant). The tobacco companies claimed that the department had violated their First Amendment rights by compelling the subsidization of speech. The tobacco companies argued that the department could create antitobacco advertisements but could not use revenue from the excise tax to do so. The district court found that the First Amendment did not restrict the government from using the excise tax for its antitobacco advertisements, because the department had not compelled the tobacco companies to engage in speech. The tobacco companies appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Fisher, J.)
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