The Supreme Court case of the Supreme Court of Virginia v. Consumers Union revolved around a First Amendment issue regarding freedom of speech and press. The state court in Virginia had issued an injunction against the Consumer's Union, preventing them from criticizing or making statements about legal services provided by attorneys in Virginia without prior approval from the court. This was due to a report published by Consumers Union that criticized certain practices among lawyers in Arlington County, VA. However, when taken to the U.S Supreme Court, it ruled 8-1 in favor of Consumers Union stating that such an injunction violated their First Amendment rights as it constituted "prior restraint" on free speech and press which is generally unconstitutional under American law unless there are exceptional circumstances (which were not present here). Therefore, this landmark decision upheld principles related to freedom of expression while also highlighting limitations on judicial powers.

In the dissenting opinion for the Supreme Court case of Virginia v. Consumers Union, Justice Rehnquist argued that the majority's decision to strike down a state statute on First Amendment grounds was incorrect. He contended that this ruling ignored previous court decisions which upheld similar statutes and failed to consider the unique role of attorneys in society. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's view that lawyers were being unfairly singled out by this law, arguing instead that they are subject to different regulations due to their professional responsibilities. Additionally, he criticized how broadly the majority interpreted commercial speech protections under First Amendment law and suggested it could lead to future challenges against other types of regulation on professionals.