Federal Communications Commission, et al., Petitioners v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., et al. (567 U.S. 239)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 21, 2012 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 567 U.S. 239 · 132 S. Ct. 2307
- Decided
- June 21, 2012
- Term
- October Term 2011
- Vote
- 8–0
- Majority author
- Justice Kennedy
- Issue area
- Due Process
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court. In FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., 556 U. S. 502, 529 (2009) (Fox I), the Court held that the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to modify its indecency enforcement regime to regulate so-called fleeting expletives was neither arbitrary nor capricious. The Court then declined to address the constitutionality of the policy, however, because the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had yet to do so. On remand, the Court of Appeals found the policy was vague and, as a result, unconstitutional. 613 F. 3d 317 (2010). The case now returns to this Court for decision upon the constitutional question. I In Fox I, the Court described both the regulatory framework through which the Commission regulates broadcast indecency and the long procedural history of this case. The Court need not repeat all that history, but some preliminary discussion is necessary to understand the constitutional issue the case now presents. A Title 18 U. S. C. § 1464 provides that “[w]hoever utters any obscene, indecent, or profane language by means of radio communication shall be fined ... or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.” The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) has been instructed by Congress to enforce § 1464 between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., see Public Telecommunications Act of 1992, § 16(a),…
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