Florida Bar v. Went For It, Inc., 515 U.S. 618, 8 (1995)

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Cite as: 515 U. S. 618 (1995)

Opinion of the Court

Because direct-mail solicitations in the wake of accidents are perceived by the public as intrusive, the Bar argues, the reputation of the legal profession in the eyes of Floridians has suffered commensurately. See Pet. for Cert. 14-15; Brief for Petitioner 28-29. The regulation, then, is an effort to protect the flagging reputations of Florida lawyers by preventing them from engaging in conduct that, the Bar maintains, " 'is universally regarded as deplorable and beneath common decency because of its intrusion upon the special vulnerability and private grief of victims or their families.' " Brief for Petitioner 28, quoting In re Anis, 126 N. J. 448, 458, 599 A. 2d 1265, 1270 (1992).

We have little trouble crediting the Bar's interest as substantial. On various occasions we have accepted the proposition that "States have a compelling interest in the practice of professions within their boundaries, and . . . as part of their power to protect the public health, safety, and other valid interests they have broad power to establish standards for licensing practitioners and regulating the practice of professions." Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar, 421 U. S. 773, 792 (1975); see also Ohralik, supra, at 460; Cohen v. Hurley, 366 U. S. 117, 124 (1961). Our precedents also leave no room for doubt that "the protection of potential clients' privacy is a substantial state interest." See Edenfield, supra, at 769. In other contexts, we have consistently recognized that "[t]he State's interest in protecting the well-being, tranquility, and privacy of the home is certainly of the highest order in a free and civilized society." Carey v. Brown, 447 U. S. 455, 471 (1980). Indeed, we have noted that "a special benefit of the privacy all citizens enjoy within their own walls, which the State may legislate to protect, is an ability to avoid intrusions." Frisby v. Schultz, 487 U. S. 474, 484- 485 (1988).

Under Central Hudson's second prong, the State must demonstrate that the challenged regulation "advances the Government's interest 'in a direct and material way.' "

625

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