The U.S. Supreme Court last week denied the petition for a writ of certiorari from Kansas farmer and cattleman Jerry Goetz, who raised a First Amendment challenge to the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985, which established the national Beef Checkoff program.

On August 9, 2001, Mr. Goetz filed a petition with the Supreme Court, asking it to vacate a 1998 Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decision against him and remand the case back to that court to reconsider his constitutional claims in light of the June 25, 2001, Supreme Court decision in United States v. United Foods. In that recent Supreme Court decision, the Court ruled that it violates the First Amendment for the government to compel mushroom producers to pay for industry advertising.

While the Center, which participated as co-counsel in the Goetz case, is disappointed by the Supreme Court’s refusal, the Court’s action should not be interpreted as a judgment on the merits of a constitutional challenge to the Beef Checkoff program. As is its general practice, the Court did not comment when it turned down Goetz’ petition.

Supreme Court experts frequently caution that a Supreme Court denial of certiorari in a case should not be seen as an indication that the underlying issue was correctly decided. Rather, it may frequently turn on procedural issues specific to a case, timing concerns, or other factors from which the Court may conclude that the specific case before the Court might not be the best vehicle in which to decide the issue. However, without access to the justices’ "closed-door" decision-making, any speculation as to the justification for their denial is just that, speculation.

Several other viable legal actions challenging the constitutionality of the Beef Act remain. In one such case, the Center is assisting in the representation of the Charter family in a case in which a motion for a preliminary injunction will be argued on March 6, 2002, in U.S. District Court in Billings, Montana.

Although Mr. Goetz was denied his day in court, the Center remains confident that justice ultimately will prevail.

For more information on the Center’s checkoff-related activities, please contact Eric Schippers at 703-535-5836.