Court reviewing Virginia college booze ad ban

Virginia’s ban on alcohol-related advertising in college newspapers is before a federal appeals court in Richmond.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hears oral arguments in the case Thursday.

The student newspapers at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech sued the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in 2007, claiming the ban violates their constitutional right to free speech and hurts their ability to make money.

Magistrate Judge M. Hannah Lauck overturned the ban last year. She said there was no evidence the ban accomplished the ABC board’s goal of curbing underage drinking. The attorney general’s office appealed her ruling.