Vizaline, L.L.C. v. Sarah Tracy, P.E.

Summary

The Fifth Circuit held that Mississippi's occupational-licensing requirements for surveyors are not categorically exempt from First Amendment scrutiny, rejecting the district court's reliance on the now-abrogated "professional speech" doctrine. Following *NIFLA v. Becerra*, the court ruled that the proper analysis is whether the regulation targets speech or conduct, not whether it is part of an occupational-licensing regime. The court reversed dismissal of Vizaline's as-applied First Amendment challenge and remanded for a conduct-versus-speech analysis, also abrogating its prior decision in *Hines v. Alldredge* to the extent it relied on the professional speech doctrine.

Holdings

1. Occupational-licensing provisions are entitled to no special exception from otherwise-applicable First Amendment protections. The district court erred in holding that such requirements do not trigger First Amendment scrutiny.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Mississippi's surveyor licensing requirements, as applied to Vizaline's practice of converting existing legal descriptions into computer-generated maps, are categorically exempt from First Amendment scrutiny because they are part of an occupational licensing regime.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded