et al. Posadas de Puerto Rico v. Tourism Company of Puerto Rico

The superior court ruled in favor of the company, with some reservations. It found that the act was not unconstitutional on its face, but that its interpretation by the company was overly stringent and did violate Posadas' First Amendment rights. The superior court ruled that the state did have a compelling interest in regulating speech regarding casinos since the sole intent of the act was "to contribute to the development of tourism," and the act specifically barred residents of Puerto Rico from gambling houses. Despite finding the act legally admissible and binding, the superior court did temper the strict interpretation of the act's prohibition of advertising applied by the company. Its ruling allowed suggestive words, such as "casino," to appear even in mass market advertising of gambling establishments within Puerto Rico, as long as these words were not emphasized within the advertisement, and such advertising was "addressed to tourists" and did not encourage residents of Puerto Rico to enter gambling houses. The superior court also allowed hotels and casinos to produce and distribute memorabilia and items of clothing bearing their name and logo on their premises. Posadas was not satisfied by this partial victory and appealed the case to the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, which agreed with the superior court that the act was not unconstitutional. Posadas then appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard arguments on 28 April 1986.