Federal Communications Commission, et al., Petitioners v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., et al.

Decided June 21, 2012. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 10-1293 · 567 U.S. 239 (2012) · Cited 916 times

Holding

Because the Commission failed to give Fox or ABC fair notice prior to the broadcasts in question that fleeting expletives and momentary nudity could be found actionably indecent, the Commission’s standards as applied to these broadcasts were vague.

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 8–0.

“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.

• Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. · 556 U.S. 502 (2009)
• United States v. Williams · 553 U.S. 285 (2008)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation · 438 U.S. 726 (1978)
• Connally v. General Construction Co. · 269 U.S. 385 (1926)
• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union · 521 U.S. 844 (1997)
• Paul v. Davis · 424 U.S. 693 (1976)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
• Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville · 405 U.S. 156 (1972)
• Lanzetta v. New Jersey · 306 U.S. 451 (1939)
• United States v. Stevens · 559 U.S. 460 (2010)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Baggett v. Bullitt · 377 U.S. 360 (1964)
• Sweatt v. Painter · 339 U.S. 629 (1950)

Cited by

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

• Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Assn. · 575 U.S. 92 (2015)
• Johnson v. United States · 576 U.S. 591 (2015)
• Financial Oversight and Management Bd. for Puerto Rico v. Aurelius Investment, LLC · 590 U.S. 448 (2020)
• Beckles v. United States · 580 U.S. 256 (2017)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2012). 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).