The Arthur W. Page Society has joined with a coalition of public relations organizations to file an amicus (friend of the court) brief in support of Nike, Inc.'s appeal to the United States Supreme Court asking it to overturn the California Supreme Court's recent ruling concerning Nike's discussion of public issues. That ruling by the state court held that Nike is not protected by the First Amendment and the Constitutional guarantee of free speech.

Others filing the brief were the Council of Public Relations Firms, the Public Relations Society of America, the Institute for Public Relations, and the Public Affairs Council.

Society President David Drobis said, "Unless the California ruling is overturned, the rights of all corporations to speak out on public issues that are related to their businesses will be jeopardized. As the amicus brief points out, the ruling effectively muzzles Corporate America by denying it the protection of the First Amendment."

The ruling resulted from a 1998 lawsuit (Nike v Kasky) that was filed by a San Francisco environmental activist who accused Nike of unfair competition and fraud for stating that its overseas workers not only earned enough to live on, but were paid, on average, twice the local minimum wage. California's highest court, by a 4-3 vote, ruled that Nike's responses to critics who charge it with mistreating overseas workers should be classified as commercial speech that does not deserve full First Amendment protection.

Bruce Keller, of the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton, wrote the amicus brief. He observed: "If the decision is permitted to stand, it will be devastating to the nation's businesses. It sweeps within its scope any public statement of fact about a company's business operations, no matter how vital the issue is to the public."

The Nike v Kasky lawsuit and California Supreme Court decision were the subject of the November 11 PAGE ONE teleconference. A transcript of that program will be posted on the Page Society Web site in the next few days. Meanwhile, to see the complete text of the amicus brief, click here.