Railway Express Agency, Inc. v. New York

New York banned vehicles used solely for displaying advertising but let business vehicles display ads related to the vehicle owner's own business; Railway Express (defendant in the underlying prosecution) sold third-party advertising space on the sides of its trucks unrelated to its own express business and was convicted and fined for violating the statute, with the conviction upheld through the state courts. Railway Express appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing the law's distinction between business-related and unrelated advertising bore no rational relation to the stated traffic-safety purpose.