Those justices rejected the two government interests that the law was said to advance: protecting disadvantaged groups from demeaning messages and the orderly flow of commerce. The First Amendment protects offensive speech, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote for this group of four justices. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas and Stephen G. Breyer joined that part of Justice Alito’s opinion. Four other justices would have struck down the law using the more searching First Amendment scrutiny that applies to viewpoint discrimination. Justice Alito, writing for eight justices on Monday, said trademarks are different.

Source: New York Times June 19, 2017 15:24 UTC