Opinion ID: 2303773
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Content-Based Regulation

Text: [¶18] Section 1014-A must also receive the strictest possible scrutiny because it is a content-based regulation. Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781, 798 n. 6, 109 S.Ct. 2746, 105 L.Ed.2d 661 (1989). The U.S. Supreme Court has explained that a regulation of speech is only content-neutral if it can be `justified without reference to the content of the regulated speech.' Id. at 791, 109 S.Ct. 2746 (quoting Clark v. Cmty. for Creative Non-Violence, 468 U.S. 288, 293, 104 S.Ct. 3065, 82 L.Ed.2d 221 (1984)). For example, regulation of the volume of sound equipment at concert venues is a content-neutral regulation. Id. at 803, 109 S.Ct. 2746. In contrast, section 1014-A unquestionably regulates the content of political advertisements by regulating the very words that may be published by the candidate. [¶19] Because the statements Mowles published relate to his qualifications as a candidate for political office and fall into the highly protected category of core political speech and because the regulation is content-based, the Superior Court correctly concluded that section 1014-A must survive strict scrutiny if it is to be upheld.