Prostitution Clause in AIDS Policy Ruled Illegal

Two federal judges in the past several weeks have ruled that the U.S. government's policy of forcing health groups to denounce prostitution in order to receive funds for international AIDS work is an unconstitutional restriction of free speech.
The Justice Department originally told the U.S. Agency for International Development -- which distributes AIDS contracts -- that the policy was unconstitutional, and so the agency declined to enforce it. But Justice reversed itself, and in 2005, USAID began to require organizations to state that they oppose prostitution and sex trafficking and sign a form before receiving funds.
The most recent ruling, issued in Washington by U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, found that the regulation "casts too wide a net and is not narrowly tailored," forcing aid organizations to "parrot the government's policies" and preventing them from using even privately raised funds to assist sex workers with AIDS prevention.
Julie M. Carpenter, a lawyer at Jenner & Block LLP who litigated the Washington case, said, "The effect of the statute was to quell any dispute with the federal government. What this does is say to the government that it can't use its spending power to constrain private speech."

Alright, Supreme Court - if this issue gets in your grubby little hands, don't ruin this extraordinary bit of good news we've gotten from the federal courts. Please!

Also, you can read the District of Columbia case here - it is well reasoned, grounded in well-settled law, and reads a bit like a law school essay. Good job, law clerk!