Docket Number: 98-387
Appealed From: U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit
Subjects: Federal government action to ban advertising for lawful casino gambling; First Amendment

At Issue: Whether the federal government may prohibit advertising for casino gambling without infringing on the First Amendment.

Decision: The justices struck down the law, declaring that a federal law restricting broadcast advertising by casinos, riddled with exceptions for other gambling enterprises, violates the First Amendment.

• The full text of the Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Association v. United States decision is available at the FindLaw Internet Legal Resources Web site.

• The full text of the 1998 decision from the 5th Circuit, Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Association v. United States, also is available at FindLaw.

• The pertinent gambling advertising provision in the U.S. Code (18 U.S.C. 1304) is available at the Web site for the U.S. House of Representatives' Office of the Law Revision Counsel.

Sources: The Washington Post, Supreme Court, The United States Law Week (a Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. publication)