Sorrell v. Ims Health Inc.

Summary

Vermont’s Prescription Confidentiality Law violates the First Amendment by imposing content- and speaker-based burdens on pharmaceutical marketing without sufficient justification. The Court held the law subjects protected expression to heightened scrutiny because it disfavors certain speech and speakers. Vermont’s interests in privacy and cost containment were not directly advanced by the law’s narrow targeting. Justice Breyer dissented, arguing the statute withstands commercial speech or ordinary economic regulation review.