UPDATE: Last Call for Va. College Papers on Alcohol Ad Ban

Image via WikipediaIn Educational Media Co. v. Swecker (Docket No. 10-278), the U. S. Supreme Court Monday declined to hear an appeal by the Va. chapter of the ACLU on behalf of two college newspapers in the Commonwealth regarding alcohol advertisement restrictions, according to an Associated Press report.

The High Court decision lets stand the 2-1 vote of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Case No. 08-1798) that upheld the validity of Va. Alcohol Beverage Control Regulations [3 Va. Admin. Code secs. 5-20-40(A) & (B)(3)] that prohibit use of the term happy hour, forbid references to specific alcoholic beverages and ban beer, wine and mixed drink advertisements in student-run publications, except in the context of restaurant ads. [See "TUOL" post 8/24/10.]

Both The Cavalier Daily and The Collegiate Times challenged the ban on the non-deceptive ads on First Amendment grounds, arguing that they lost roughly $30,000 in ad revenue because of the proscription. Instead of  "bottoms up," their appeal has bottomed out.