The U.S. Justice Department last week lost its bid to convince the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to rescue the government’s plans to place grisly anti-smoking warnings on cigarette packages. The appeals court voted, 5-3, to reject a petition from the department, which was advocating on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the dispute. The graphic images are intended to illustrate the hazards of smoking.
In August, a three-judge panel blocked the warnings on First Amendment ground. Three judges voted to review that ruling: Merrick Garland, Judith Rogers and David Tatel, comprising the court’s liberal wing. Rogers had been the dissenting voice on the three-judge panel. None of the judges on the en banc court issued any statement explaining their votes.
