Federal Communications Commission and United States v. Beach Communications, Inc., et al.

Decided June 1, 1993. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 92-603 · 508 U.S. 307 (1993) · Cited 2,387 times

Holding

Section 602(7)(B)’s common-ownership distinction is constitutional.

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.

“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.

• United States Railroad Retirement Board v. Fritz · 449 U.S. 166 (1980)
• Vance v. Bradley · 440 U.S. 93 (1979)
• Dandridge v. Williams · 397 U.S. 471 (1970)
• Williamson v. Lee Optical of Oklahoma, Inc. · 348 U.S. 483 (1955)
• Lehnhausen v. Lake Shore Auto Parts Co. · 410 U.S. 356 (1973)
• Nordlinger v. Hahn · 505 U.S. 1 (1992)
• Lorillard v. Pons · 434 U.S. 575 (1978)
• Flemming v. Nestor · 363 U.S. 603 (1960)
• Minnesota v. Clover Leaf Creamery Co. · 449 U.S. 456 (1981)
• Carmichael v. Southern Coal & Coke Co. · 301 U.S. 495 (1937)
• Hampton v. Mow Sun Wong · 426 U.S. 88 (1976)
• Hodel v. Indiana · 452 U.S. 314 (1981)
• Sullivan v. Stroop · 496 U.S. 478 (1990)
• Bowen v. Gilliard · 483 U.S. 587 (1987)
• Lyng v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, & Agricultural Implement Workers · 485 U.S. 360 (1988)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• United States v. Skrmetti · 605 U.S. 495 (2025)
• Heller v. Doe Ex Rel. Doe · 509 U.S. 312 (1993)
• United States v. Lopez · 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
• Hall Street Associates, L. L. C. v. Mattel, Inc. · 552 U.S. 576 (2008)
• Tuan Anh Nguyen v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 533 U.S. 53 (2001)
• Board of Trustees of Univ. of Ala. v. Garrett · 531 U.S. 356 (2001)
• Armour v. City of Indianapolis · 566 U.S. 673 (2012)
• Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton · 606 U.S. 461 (2025)
• BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore · 517 U.S. 559 (1996)
• Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture · 553 U.S. 591 (2008)
• City of Chicago v. Morales · 527 U.S. 41 (1999)
• TXO Production Corp. v. Alliance Resources Corp. · 509 U.S. 443 (1993)
• Kelo v. City of New London · 545 U.S. 469 (2005)
• United States v. Carlton · 512 U.S. 26 (1994)
• Eldred v. Ashcroft · 537 U.S. 186 (2003)
• Fulton Corp. v. Faulkner · 516 U.S. 325 (1996)
• Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia · 517 U.S. 186 (1996)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1993). 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).