City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network, Inc. Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

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City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network, Inc., 507 U.S. 410 (1993)

Commercial speech receives less First Amendment protection than noncommercial speech. But may the government treat commercial speech worse than noncommercial speech solely because it’s commercial? The United States Supreme Court explored this question in City of Cincinnati versus Discovery Network.

The City of Cincinnati had approximately 2,000 newsracks on its sidewalks. Most of those newsracks distributed noncommercial materials, like newspapers. But 62 newsracks distributed commercial handbills containing advertisements for either real estate or educational and recreational classes. The city banned all newsracks distributing commercial handbills but didn’t ban newsracks distributing noncommercial materials.

Two handbill publishers, the Discovery Network and Harmon Publishing Company, sued the city, claiming the ban violated the First Amendment.

In the lawsuit, it was undisputed that the publishers’ handbills were commercial speech, that the handbills weren’t misleading or unlawful, and that the city had a substantial interest in the public safety and appearance of its sidewalks.

The disputed issue was whether the city’s discriminatory treatment of commercial speech was justified. The city claimed that the ban was justified because, one, reducing the total number of newsracks improved public safety and the appearance of the city’s sidewalks and, two, if some newsracks had to go, the newsracks distributing commercial speech were less protected than the newsracks distributing noncommercial speech.

The district court ruled that the ban violated the First Amendment. The city appealed to the Sixth Circuit, which affirmed the ruling. The Supreme Court granted cert.

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