City of New York et al. v. Federal Communications Commission et al.
Decided May 16, 1988. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 87-339 · 486 U.S. 57 (1988) · Cited 254 times
Holding
The FCC did not exceed its statutory authority by forbidding local authorities to impose technical cable signal quality standards more stringent than those set forth in the Commission's regulations.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 9–0.
Majority · 9
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Capital Cities Cable, Inc. v. Crisp · 467 U.S. 691 (1984)
- Louisiana Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. FCC · 476 U.S. 355 (1986)
- Fidelity Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. De La Cuesta · 458 U.S. 141 (1982)
- United States v. Shimer · 367 U.S. 374 (1961)
- United States v. Southwestern Cable Co. · 392 U.S. 157 (1968)
- Federal Communications Commission v. Midwest Video Corp. · 440 U.S. 689 (1979)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Geier v. American Honda Motor Co. · 529 U.S. 861 (2000)
- Watters v. Wachovia Bank, N. A. · 550 U.S. 1 (2007)
- City of Arlington v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n · 569 U.S. 290 (2013)
- Mississippi Power & Light Co. v. Mississippi Ex Rel. Moore · 487 U.S. 354 (1988)
- United States v. Locke · 529 U.S. 89 (2000)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Byron Raymond White’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1988). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).