Arguing that the case provides an excellent vehicle for the Supreme Court to determine whether States may redefine a word, already defined by federal law, and then ban its use altogether, CCL filed a reply brief in support of its petition for a writ of certiorari.

     In Recht v. Morrisey, CCL is challenging a West Virginia statute that, among other things, bans the word "recall" in certain attorney advertising when used accurately to refer a drug or medical device recalled by the manufacturer. Federal law defines a recall as a voluntary action by a manufacturer when it determines that the product is not sufficiently safe to continue to be sold. However, the West Virginia law only permits the truthful use of the word when the government orders a recall, which it does not do in the case of drugs and medical devices.

     A federal district court in West Virginia struck the law as unconstitutional, but the decision was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which held that the word was inherently misleading. The CCL petition seeks review of that decision in the U.S. Supreme Court. The reply filed today explains why West Virginia's opposition to further review lacks merit.