Marketing Orders and Brand Promotion...Got Lawyers

M any agricultural industries promote their products with funds generated from mandatory contributions by producers and/or handlers. Studies have shown that these programs often yield an excellent rate of return. Nonetheless, these programs have been controversial, and have endured numerous legal attacks on the grounds that they violate participants' First Amendment rights by compelling them to associate with competitors and support advertising messages with which they disagree. Most observers believed that the Supreme Court had ended litigation, at least on First Amendment grounds, by ruling in favor of the marketing programs. However, a November 1999 decision by the u.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals threatens to reignite the debate.