Rubin v. Coors Brewing Co.

514 U.S. 476 (1995)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P applied to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF), an agency of the Department of the Treasury, for approval of proposed labels and advertisements that disclosed the alcohol content of its beer. BATF rejected the application on the ground that the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (FAAA or Act), prohibited disclosure of the alcohol content of beer on labels or in advertising. P sued D seeking a declaratory judgment that the Act violated the First Amendment. The FAAA establishes national rules governing the distribution, production, and importation of alcohol and established a Federal Alcohol Administration to implement these rules. Products could not be shipped in interstate or foreign commerce unless they were bottled, packaged, and labeled in conformity with FAAA regulations. Implementing regulations prohibit the disclosure of alcohol content on beer labels. The labeling regulations proscribe descriptive terms that suggest high content, such as 'strong,' 'full strength,' 'extra strength,' 'high test,' 'high proof,' 'pre-war strength,' and 'full old-time alcoholic strength.' The prohibitions do not preclude labels from identifying a beer as 'low alcohol,' 'reduced alcohol,' 'non-alcoholic,' or 'alcohol-free.' This labeling ban must give way if state law requires disclosure of alcohol content. The District Court granted the relief sought, but a panel of the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed and remanded. The Court of Appeals found that D's interest in suppressing alcoholic 'strength wars' was 'substantial.' It held that the record provided insufficient evidence to determine whether the FAAA's ban on disclosure 'directly advanced' that interest. The court remanded and the District Court upheld the ban on the disclosure of alcohol content in advertising but invalidated the ban as it applied to labels. The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.