City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network, Inc.

Summary

The Court, in an opinion by Justice Stevens joined by Justices Blackmun, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, and Souter, held that Cincinnati's selective ban on newsracks distributing commercial handbills violated the First Amendment. The city failed to establish a reasonable fit between its safety and aesthetic interests and a distinction unrelated to those interests. The ban also could not qualify as a content-neutral time, place, or manner restriction. Justice Blackmun concurred separately, advocating full First Amendment protection for truthful, noncoercive commercial speech concerning lawful activities. Chief Justice Rehnquist, joined by Justices White and Thomas, dissented, reasoning that the city could address its newsrack problem incrementally by restricting less-protected commercial speech and had established the reasonable fit required by existing precedent.