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Public Citizen Files "Friend of the Court" Brief in Beef Checkoff Case

Public Citizen has filed an amicus curiae brief in the case of Veneman v. Livestock Marketing Association. This case in the U.S. Supreme Court concerns whether the beef "checkoff" program, under which all beef producers are required by federal law to contribute funds to support "generic" beef advertising, violates the First Amendment. Many independent beef producers oppose the law because it compels them to support speech by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the Cattlemen's Beef Board that they do not agree with. The federal government defends the law on the theory that the beef advertising is "government speech" and is not subject to a First Amendment challenge. Public Citizen has filed an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief supporting the ranchers and producers who oppose the law. The brief argues that the beef advertising that is funded by the program (specifically, the "Beef, It's What's for Dinner" campaign) is not genuinely speech of the federal government, but is simply an industry effort to promote its product to consumers. For more information on the fight against the beef checkoff, visit the Western Organization of Resource Councils at: http://www.worc.org/issues/art_issues/CHECKOFF.html .

Click here to read Public Citizen's brief.
(**Note: The file is in a pdf format and requires Adobe Acrobat.)

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