Cite as: 521 U. S. 457 (1997)
Thomas, J., dissenting
In numerous cases, this Court has recognized that paying money for the purposes of advertising involves speech.1 The Court also has recognized that compelling speech raises a First Amendment issue just as much as restricting speech.2 Given these two elemental principles of our First Amendment jurisprudence, it is incongruous to suggest that forcing fruitgrowers to contribute to a collective advertising campaign does not even involve speech, while at the same time effectively conceding that forbidding a fruitgrower to make those same contributions voluntarily would violate the First Amendment. Compare ante, at 470 (promotional regulations should be scrutinized under the same standard as other anticompetitive aspects of the marketing orders), with ante, at 469, and n. 12 (distinguishing this case as not involving a "restraint" on any producer's freedom to communicate with any audience). Yet, that is precisely what the majority opinion does.3
1 See Central Hudson Gas & Elec. Corp. v. Public Serv. Comm'n of N. Y., 447 U. S. 557 (1980) (advertising to promote the use of electricity is speech); First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, 435 U. S. 765 (1978) (corporate advertising regarding referendum); Abood v. Detroit Bd. of Ed., 431 U. S. 209 (1977) (per curiam) (payment of dues used to engage in speech); Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U. S. 1 (1976) (contributions for political advertising).
2 See Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. FCC, 520 U. S. 180 (1997) (coerced carriage of broadcast signals over cable television facilities); Pacific Gas & Elec. Co. v. Public Util. Comm'n of Cal., 475 U. S. 1 (1986) (coerced inclusion of private messages in utility bill envelopes); PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins, 447 U. S. 74 (1980) (coerced creation of a speaker's forum on private property); Abood v. Detroit Bd. of Ed., supra (coerced payment of dues used to engage in speech); Wooley v. Maynard, 430 U. S. 705 (1977) (coerced display of state license plate); Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo, 418 U. S. 241 (1974) (coerced right of reply to newspaper editorials); West Virginia Bd. of Ed. v. Barnette, 319 U. S. 624 (1943) (coerced Pledge of Allegiance).
3 The majority's grounds for distinguishing certain of our precedents are, to say the least, unpersuasive and contradictory, as Justice Souter's dissent amply demonstrates. Moreover, the majority's excessive emphasis on the supposed collectivization of the fruit industry, ante, at 469, 474- 477, likewise fails to support its conclusion. Although the Constitution
505
Page: Index Previous 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007