Question

24. “Café Erotica”, which is a nude dancing establishment, posts a billboard on an interstate highway in Texas, which billboard promotes Café Erotica and has some nudity on the billboard.

The State of Texas demands that “Café Erotica” take down the billboard because it violates the State of Texas “highway beautification and safety” rules.

“Café Erotica” sues the State of Texas for mandating that they take down the billboard, stating Texas has restricted their free speech and freedom of advertising/freedom of the press under the 1^st Amendment of the Bill of Rights.

          In order for Texas to prevail, what are the three restrictions that the Court will consider in validating the actions of Texas to remove the billboard?

Answer 1

The Court's evaluate a Billboard cases based on principle of strict scrutiny which requires a government to prove to the satisfaction of court that (a) Bill or law is necessary to a compelling state interest; (b) Law or bill is narrowly tailored to achieving this compelling purpose; and (c) Law or bill uses the least restrictive means to achieve the purpose.

Under this scrutiny government must prove that a law advances a compelling, or very strong, interest in a way that restricts speech in the least restrictive way possible.