The Florida Bar v. Christopher W. Crowley
The Florida Supreme Court held that Rule Regulating The Florida Bar 4-8.2(a) is unconstitutional as applied to Crowley's political campaign speech about a candidate for the partisan office of state attorney. Because the rule is a content-based restriction on core political speech subject to strict scrutiny, and the Bar identified no compelling interest sufficient to justify regulating speech in a partisan legal-office race, the Court rejected the referee's guilt recommendations and declined to discipline him.
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