Court Opinion

ID: 9739635
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 20:18:52.83645+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:12.744928
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE COOK, dissenting: I respectfully dissent because I am unable to reconcile the majority’s decision with Illinois Supreme Court precedent. State regulation of commercial speech is permissible by means of appropriate time, place, and manner restrictions and where such speech is false or misleading. Desnick, 171 Ill. 2d at 518, 665 N.E.2d at 1352. Further, the overbreadth doctrine, traditionally utilized in analyzing challenges to a regulation’s constitutionality, does not apply to commercial speech challenges. Desnick, 171 Ill. 2d at 519, 665 N.E.2d at 1353. Thus, the challenging party may not simply attack the regulation’s validity, claiming that it infringes protected speech of others even if it might constitutionally be applied to him. Rather, he must claim that the acts that are the subject of the litigation fall outside what a properly drawn regulation could cover. Desnick, 171 Ill. 2d at 520, 665 N.E.2d at 1353. A challenge to the application of a commercial speech restriction is analyzed under the four-part framework set out in Central Hudson, 447 U.S. at 566, 65 L. Ed. 2d at 351, 100 S. Ct. at 2351. Unlike the majority, I conclude that the first prong of the Central Hudson test is dispositive in this matter. The United States Supreme Court did note in a recent case that “[t]he four parts of the Central Hudson test are not entirely discrete” and that “[a]ll are important and, to a certain extent, interrelated.” Greater New Orleans Broadcasting, 527 U.S. at 183-84, 144 L. Ed. 2d at 174, 119 S. Ct. at 1930. However, the parties there agreed that the speech at issue was not misleading. Greater New Orleans Broadcasting, 527 U.S. at 184, 144 L. Ed. 2d at 175,119 S. Ct. at 1930. I conclude that the testimonials at issue here are “inherently misleading” for purposes of the Central Hudson test when viewed in light of the Supreme Court of Illinois’ decision in Ardt. The majority has discussed why it believes Ardt is not dispositive here; however, I conclude that Ardt requires affirmance of the circuit court. Section 26 of the Act regulates advertising and prohibits chiropractors from utilizing testimonials or claims of superior quality to entice the public. 225 ILCS 60/26 (West Supp. 1999). In Ardt, the court applied this same language and concluded that a dentist’s advertisement promoting “ ‘quality dentistry for all family needs and all ages’ ” was inherently misleading because the statement could not be measured or tested empirically. Ardt, 154 Ill. 2d at 154, 607 N.E.2d at 1233. I find particularly applicable the court’s statement: “Whether the quality of any one dentist’s services is superior to that of his colleagues is a matter of opinion for the dentist’s patients to decide after treatment. Prior to treatment they should not be misled by advertising which might prove to make an empty claim.” (Emphasis added.) Ardt, 154 Ill. 2d at 154, 607 N.E.2d at 1233. See also Talsky, 68 Ill. 2d at 590-91, 370 N.E.2d at 178-79 (upholding advertising limitations on chiropractor, court determined that the public is particularly susceptible to advertising or promises of medical relief and that the State has a compelling interest to guard against potential abuse). Each of the “chiropractic stories” contained in the booklet was favorable and supportive of Snell and his practice. Snell elicited praise with questions directly related to the benefits received by the patient and with questions that asked patients to “describe [their] results, including time involved.” He elicited statements such as the following: “little to zero pain — took three months”; “Severe pain disappeared after a couple treatments and only slight discomfort was left after several weeks”; “Pain decreased in about 2 weeks. In about 6 weeks all pain was gone”; and “Just after 2 mo. I feel 100% better than I did when I came to Dr. Snell.” Other questions seemed designed to elicit testimonials. Question No. 12 asks: “What would you recommend to others who are sick, suffering, or in pain?” Some of the answers included: “Chiropractic can help you feel healthier and more alive”; “Try a chiropractor. They may be able to help”; “Go see Dr. Snell”; “I would tell them to go to Dr. Snell right away”; “I would send them to Dr. Snell right away”; “I would send them, to Dr. Snell”; “Go to Snell Chiropractic Center. It helped me with my pain!” Finally, some of the requests for information were phrased so as to assume a favorable response or an expression of appreciation. Question No. 11 asks: “How do you feel about chiropractic, now that you have enjoyed its benefits?” Answers to this inquiry included the following: “I believe in the ability of a chiropractor to make a person feel 100% better” and “I feel great about it. I have never felt so good in my fife.” Like the advertisement of “quality dentistry” at issue in Ardt, these statements cannot be measured or tested empirically. Further, “testimonials,” particularly when assembled as they were in this case, imply to Snell’s waiting room patients that the treatment advertised is 100% or nearly 100% effective for all persons and is superior to other methods. No unfavorable testimonials were made available in the waiting room. Since the Supreme Court of Illinois found the phrase “quality dentistry” to be inherently misleading, I am led to the same conclusion with respect to the testimonials and statements contained in the booklet. I find the testimonials at issue here to be even more misleading than using the phrase “quality dentistry” in an advertisement. Since inherently misleading commercial speech may be completely prohibited, I would end the analysis there. Ardt, 154 Ill. 2d at 155, 607 N.E.2d at 1234. As an additional matter, I note that the majority opinion, taken to its logical conclusion, would require the Department to present evidence to show that a particular testimonial is deceptive, misleading, or false in order to bar its use. Ardt did not impose a similar duty upon the Department to establish that the public was actually misled by the phrase “quality dentistry.” The majority places an impossible burden on the Department, requiring it to question the particular chiropractor’s clients to ascertain the effect that a certain testimonial had upon them. Such a requirement fails to recognize the scope of the legislative power in this area. The State has a substantial interest in regulating the medical profession, and in carrying out that interest it has the power to draw lines, to classify. It is not only inevitable but necessary in the management of the medical profession that lines be drawn. See Jacobson v. Department of Public Aid, 269 Ill. App. 3d 359, 368, 646 N.E.2d 949, 955 (1994) (public welfare system). I would find that the ban on the testimonials at issue here does not violate the first amendment.