The student newspaper at the University of Virginia issued an apology and pulled two satirical stories from its website Wednesday after students complained the stories were racist — one of which parodied a student’s violent arrest by Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control agents two weeks ago.
In 2006, the student newspapers at Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia filed suit against the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control board for its blanket ban on the advertising of alcoholic beverages in college newspapers. In 2013, the federal appeals court ruled the ban was unconstitutional.
A federal appeals court ruled that Wednesday that Virginia’s ban on alcohol ads in student newspapers was unconstitutional, bringing an end to a lawsuit filed seven years ago.
A federal judge upheld a Virginia ban on advertisements for alcohol in college papers last week, finding that the government’s goal in fighting underage drinking outweighs newspapers’ First Amendment right to publish alcohol advertising.
A legal challenge to Virginia’s ban on alcohol-related advertisements in college publications is still brewing.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 this month that the Virginia regulation that prohibits college publications from printing alcohol advertisements does not violate the students' First Amendment rights.
The Student Press Law Center ("SPLC"), a national non-profitadvocacy group devoted to defending student journalists' First Amendmentrights, is urging a federal appeals court to uphold a lower court'sdecision striking down selective Virginia regulations that restrict the wordscollege student newspapers can use in advertisements for alcohol and bars.
A federal judge on Thursday issued a permanentinjunction barring Virginia's Alcoholic Beverage Control board fromenforcing two regulations that ban certain kinds of alcohol advertisements innewspapers.
The state attorney general's office has filed itsresponse to a lawsuit that challengesthe constitutionality of a regulation prohibiting college student publicationsfrom running alcohol advertisements.
Two college student newspapers are challenging the constitutionality of aVirginia state regulation that prohibits college student publications from publishingalcohol ads.