FCC v. Pacifica Foundation
Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that upheld the ability of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate indecent content sent over the broadcast airwaves.
| FCC v. Pacifica Foundation | |
|---|---|
Supreme Court of the United States | |
| Argued April 18–19, 1978 Decided July 3, 1978 | |
| Full case name | Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation, et al. |
| Citations | 438 U.S. 726 (more) 98 S. Ct. 3026; 57 L. Ed. 2d 1073; 1978 U.S. LEXIS 135; 43 Rad. Reg. 2d (P & F) 493; 3 Media L. Rep. 2553 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Complaint granted, 56 F.C.C.2d 94 (1975); reversed, 556 F.2d 9 (D.C. Cir. 1977); cert. granted, 434 U.S. 1008 (1978). |
| Holding | |
| Because of the pervasive nature of broadcasting, it has less First Amendment protection than other forms of communication. The F.C.C. was justified in concluding that Carlin's "Filthy Words" broadcast, though not obscene, was indecent, and subject to restriction. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Stevens (Parts I, II, III, and IV-C), joined by Burger, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist |
| Concurrence | Stevens (Parts IV-A and IV-B), joined by Burger, Rehnquist |
| Concurrence | Powell, joined by Blackmun |
| Dissent | Brennan, joined by Marshall |
| Dissent | Stewart, joined by Brennan, White, Marshall |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. I; 18 U.S.C. § 1464 | |
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.