Standing Up for Free Speech at the Oregon Supreme Court

Picture it: You run a successful small business, but there’s one big catch—it’s illegal to accurately describe what you’re selling.

That’s not just kooky, it violates basic free speech rights. Now Goldwater is headed to the Oregon Supreme Court, the sixth state high court where we’ve defended constitutional liberties, to fight this illegal restriction.

A core element of the freedom of speech is the right of business owners to communicate with their customers and with the general public—the right to freely provide accurate information about the products and services the business sells. Not only does that freedom help businesses succeed; it also ensures that customers get the information they need to make informed decisions.

Oregon, however, passed a law banning shops that sell e-cigarettes and vaping products from including any words or images on their products’ packaging that the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) deems might be “attractive to minors.” This flies in the face of the right of business owners to communicate freely and accurately with the public about their products. Yet the bureaucrats at the OHA have taken their censorship mandate so far, they’ve even banned retailers from putting words like “apple,” “strawberry,” or “orange” on their product labels—putting business owners in the bizarre situation where, for example, they can lawfully sell fruit-flavored vaping liquid, but they’re forbidden from providing accurate descriptions of those products to the consenting adults who might want to buy them.

Not only is that bizarre; it’s unconstitutional. That’s why the Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit in 2018 on behalf of vape shop owner Paul Bates challenging Oregon’s censorship law. Paul prevailed in the intermediate appellate court, which found that the restriction violated his free expression rights under the Oregon Constitution. The Oregon Supreme Court has now granted review in the case.

This will be the sixth state supreme court where Goldwater attorneys have stood up for constitutional rights and limited government—in addition to the countless other state and federal courts around the country where Goldwater has brought lawsuits against overreaching government officials.

As Paul explains, “Shouldn’t my customers have access to the truthful, accurate information they need to make wise choices?”

Stay tuned for more developments on our case page.

John Thorpe is a Staff Attorney at the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation, where he litigates in the areas of education, free speech, economic liberty, government transparency, regulatory reform, and property rights.