Barr v. AAPC
The Court Says Exception to Cellphone Call Ban Violates First Amendment
Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants was featured in Unsolicited Telemarketing Calls, Supreme Court Debates (May 2020). The following is excerpted from the 6-3 majority opinion written by Justice Kavanaugh, as prepared by the Court Reporter of Decisions.
The Free Speech Clause provides that government generally “has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content.” — Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley (1972). Under this court’s precedents, content-based laws are subject to strict scrutiny. Section 227(b)(1)(A)(iii)’s robocall restriction, with the government-debt exception, is content based because it favors speech made for the purpose of collecting government debt over political and other speech. …
