FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978) is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision that defined the power of the Federal Communications Commission over indecent material as applied to broadcasting. Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... A landmark decision is the outcome of a legal case (often thus referred to as a landmark case) that establishes a precedent that either substantially changes the interpretation of the law or that simply establishes new case law on a particular issue. ... Seal of the Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest federal court in the United States of America. ... The FCCs official seal. ...

Facts

In 1973, a father complained to the FCC that his son had heard the George Carlin routine "Filthy Words" broadcast one afternoon over WBAI, a Pacifica Foundation FM radio station in New York City. (Carlin's routine included a discussion of the "seven dirty words": shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, mother-fucker, and tits.) Pacifica received a citation from the FCC, which sought to fine Pacifica for allegedly violating FCC regulations which prohibited broadcasting "obscene" material. The affair became popularly known as "the Carlin case" even though Carlin himself was not a party to the lawsuit. 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ... George Carlin in the film Jersey Girl George Dennis Carlin (born May 12, 1937 in New York City) is an Irish American (I used to be Irish Catholic, now Im an American. ... The seven dirty words are seven English words comedian George Carlin listed in his 1973 monologue Filthy Words. ... The WBAI studios on the 10th floor of 120 Wall Street, Manhattan WBAI is a non-commercial, listener sponsored New York radio station, located at 99. ... Pacifica Radio is a network of five independent, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations in the United States that is known for its leftist and pacifist political views. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. ...

The Bench

The makeup of the Supreme Court and its opinions was:

Opinion

• Written by: Justice John Paul Stevens

1. Joined by: Chief Justice Warren E. Burger and Justice William H. Rehnquist
2. Joined by: Justices Harry Blackmun and Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. (in all but Parts IV-A and IV-B)

Associate Justices of the United States Supreme Court are the members of that court other than the Chief Justice. ... Justice John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) is an American jurist who has been a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice since 1975; he is the oldest and longest serving justice on the court. ... The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the Judicial Branch of the government of the United States, and presides over the Supreme Court of the United States. ... Warren Burger at a press conference in May 1969 shortly after he was nominated to be Chief Justice of the United States. ... William H. Rehnquist has served as the Chief Justice of the United States since 1986. ... Justice Harry Blackmun Harry Andrew Blackmun (November 12, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. ... Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. ...

Concurring Opinion

• Written by: Justice Powell

• Joined by: Justice Blackmun

Dissenting

1.Written by: Justice William J. Brennan William J. Brennan, Jr. ...

• Joined by: Justice Thurgood Marshall

2.Written by: Justice Potter Stewart Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908- January 24, 1993) was an American jurist and the first black American to serve on the United States Supreme Court. ... Justice Potter Stewart Potter Stewart (January 23, 1915 - December 7, 1985) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. ...

• Joined by: Justices Brennan, Byron White and Marshall

Byron White Byron Raymond White (June 8, 1917 – April 15, 2002) won fame both as a speedy running back and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ...

Holding

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the FCC action, by a vote of 5 to 4, ruling that the routine was "indecent but not obscene." The Court stated that the FCC had the authority to prohibit such broadcasts during hours when children were likely to be among the audience.

Legislation

In December 2003, U.S. congressman Doug Ose introduced a bill (H.R. 3687) to outlaw the broadcast of Carlin's seven "dirty words," including "compound use (including hyphenated compounds) of such words and phrases with each other or with other words or phrases, and other grammatical forms of such words and phrases (including verb, adjective, gerund, participle, and infinitive forms)." (The bill omits tits, and includes ass and asshole which were not part of Carlin's original routine). 2003(MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Douglas Arlo Ose commonly known as Doug Ose(born June 27, 1955), American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005, representing the 3rd District of California. ... Asshole or arsehole (outside the U.S.) is a term referring to the anus. ...

Research Resources

• First Amendment Library entry on FCC v. Pacifica Foundation

External links

• Text of the decision from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Text of the decision courtesy of FindLaw.