PENNSYLVANIA — The U.S. Supreme Court declined in January to heara college student newspaper’s appeal of a state law banning alcohol adsin college publications.
Now the case is headed back to a federal district court for a full hearing.
The 1996 law prohibits businesses from advertising alcohol in publicationsproduced “by, for, or in behalf of any education institution.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled last year thatThe Pitt News’ monetary loss — approximately $17,000 of lost adrevenue — did not constitute a violation of the First Amendment.
The newspaper had argued the loss forced it to print shorter issuesand thus publish less news, but the court disagreed, saying the loss “amountsto nothing more than an incidental economic effect of a regulation aimedat closely regulated third parties.”