Q: This question is in regards to the Supreme Court Case "National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra."
The way Justice Thomas phrased his opinion is that the petitioners in the case were "likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that the FACT Act violates the First Amendment." What does it mean that the petitioners were "likely to succeed?" Did the petitioners succeed in their case at the Supreme Court or did they not? Either the FACT Act violates the First Amendment or it doesn't. Why didn't the Court just simply state that the FACT Act violates the first amendment? It seems like the justices side-stepped the question. So who truly won in this case (and how do you know that they won)?
A:
Petitioners in licensed clinic won. The District Court denied their motion for a preliminary injunction, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed. Holding that petitioners could not show a likelihood of success on the merits, the trial court concluded that the licensed notice survived a lower level of scrutiny applicable to regulations of “professional speech,” and that the unlicensed notice satisfied any level of scrutiny.
The SCOTUS held:
1. The licensed notice likely violates the First Amendment.
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