Nike, Inc. v. Kasky

Summary

The Court dismissed certiorari as improvidently granted in a per curiam order without explaining its reasons or deciding the First Amendment questions. Justice Stevens, joined by Justice Ginsburg and, as to Part III, Justice Souter, concurred. Stevens identified lack of a final state-court judgment, lack of Article III standing, and avoidance of premature constitutional adjudication as independently sufficient reasons for dismissal. Justice Kennedy dissented without explanation. Justice Breyer, joined by Justice O'Connor, dissented, concluding that jurisdiction existed and that delaying review threatened to chill protected speech. Breyer would have reached the merits and believed heightened scrutiny likely barred the challenged application of California's private-attorney-general enforcement provisions.