In its 1942 ruling in the "Valentine vs. Christensen" case, the Supreme Court established the doctrine that commercial speech is not protected by the First Amendment. In 1975, in the "Bigelow vs. Virginia" case, the Supreme Court took a decisive step toward abrogating that doctrine, by ruling that advertising is not stripped of all First Amendment protection. This report outlines the legal status of commercial speech, from the Christensen case to the present. The report discusses the considerations in the Christensen case, definitions of commercial speech in subsequent cases, and decisions in the lower courts, which have ranged from affording no protection to commercial speech to affording full protection. Other sections report on Supreme Court decisions between 1942 and 1975 that demonstrate inconsistency regarding First Amendment protection for commercial speech, describe the issues in the Bigelow case, and analyze the status of protection for commercial speech since the Bigelow decision. (GW)