The United States Court of International Trade has dismissed a lawsuit against the Cotton Research and Promotion Act.
The lawsuit was brought by plaintiffs Cricket Hosiery, Inc., The William Carter Company, Artex International and others.
In the case, the plaintiffs claimed the act violated their constitutional free speech, free association and due process rights. "The USCIT certainly considered the decision and reasoning behind the most recent Supreme Court decision rendered in May of 2005 (Johanns versus the Livestock Marketing Association) - the beef case," says William P. Crawford, president and CEO of the Memphis-based Cotton Board. "This is a decision we obviously welcome. Now we can turn our full attention toward the original intent of this program - building markets for cotton."