Opinion ID: 1609069
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Content-Based Laws are Presumptively Invalid and Subject to Strict Scrutiny

Text: Regulations that are content-based are presumptively invalid. R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377, 382, 112 S.Ct. 2538, 2542, 120 L.Ed.2d 305 (1992). Except for a few well-defined exceptions, which do not apply in this case, [55] a content-based regulation will survive a constitutional challenge only if it passes the well-established two-part strict scrutiny test. Under strict scrutiny the government bears the burden of proving the constitutionality of the regulation by showing (1) that the regulation serves a compelling governmental interest, and (2) that the regulation is narrowly tailored to serve that compelling interest. Playboy Entertainment Group, 529 U.S. at 813, 120 S.Ct. at 1886; R.A.V., 505 U.S. at 395-396, 112 S.Ct. at 2549-2550; Simon & Schuster, 502 U.S. at 118, 112 S.Ct. at 509; Consolidated Edison, 447 U.S. at 540, 100 S.Ct. at 2335 (the government must show that the regulation is a precisely drawn means of serving a compelling state interest).