Supreme Court Rules That Beef Check-Off Is Government Speech; But Check-Off Litigation May Not Be Over

Abstract

<p>On May 23, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federally-mandated beef promotion program against a First Amendment challenge on the basis that the program constituted government speech.<strong>¹</strong>The Court, however, left open the possibility that the beef check-off could be successfully challenged on First Amendment grounds if it can be shown on remand that the advertisements attribute their generic pro-beef message to the plaintiffs.<strong>²</strong>As such, the Court’s ruling does not necessarily end the beef check-off litigation, and is not entirely precedential for the pork check-off litigation that awaits a determination as to whether the Supreme Court will hear the case.<strong>³</strong></p>