Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation et al.

Decided July 3, 1978. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 77-528 · 438 U.S. 726 (1978) · Cited 761 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“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.

• Cohen v. California · 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
• Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc. · 427 U.S. 50 (1976)
• Miller v. California · 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
• Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville · 422 U.S. 205 (1975)
• Ginsberg v. New York · 390 U.S. 629 (1968)
• Butler v. Michigan · 352 U.S. 380 (1957)
• Hamling v. United States · 418 U.S. 87 (1974)
• Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission · 395 U.S. 367 (1969)
• Rowan v. United States Post Office Department · 397 U.S. 728 (1970)
• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire · 315 U.S. 568 (1942)
• Bates v. State Bar of Arizona · 433 U.S. 350 (1977)
• United States v. 12 200-Ft. Reels of Super 8MM. Film · 413 U.S. 123 (1973)
• Manual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day · 370 U.S. 478 (1962)
• Roth v. United States · 354 U.S. 476 (1957)
• Wisconsin v. Yoder · 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
• Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority · 297 U.S. 288 (1936)
• Stanley v. Georgia · 394 U.S. 557 (1969)
• Schenck v. United States · 249 U.S. 47 (1919)
• Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson · 343 U.S. 495 (1952)
• Lehman v. City of Shaker Heights · 418 U.S. 298 (1974)
• Rescue Army v. Municipal Court of Los Angeles · 331 U.S. 549 (1947)
• Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Democratic National Committee · 412 U.S. 94 (1973)
• Lewis v. City of New Orleans · 415 U.S. 130 (1974)
• Hess v. Indiana · 414 U.S. 105 (1973)
• Eaton v. City of Tulsa · 415 U.S. 697 (1974)
• Papish v. Board of Curators of the University of Missouri · 410 U.S. 667 (1973)
• Tidewater Oil Co. v. United States · 409 U.S. 151 (1972)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. · 418 U.S. 323 (1974)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)

Cited by

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

• Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. · 556 U.S. 502 (2009)
• Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 518 U.S. 727 (1996)
• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union · 521 U.S. 844 (1997)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• Iancu v. Brunetti · 588 U.S. 388 (2019)
• Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser · 478 U.S. 675 (1986)
• Sable Communications of California, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 492 U.S. 115 (1989)
• Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp. · 463 U.S. 60 (1983)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. · 567 U.S. 239 (2012)
• New York v. Ferber · 458 U.S. 747 (1982)
• Federal Communications Commission v. League of Women Voters of California · 468 U.S. 364 (1984)
• Texas v. Johnson · 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
• Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell · 485 U.S. 46 (1988)
• Consolidated Edison Co. of New York v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 530 (1980)
• Frisby v. Schultz · 487 U.S. 474 (1988)
• Carey v. Brown · 447 U.S. 455 (1980)
• United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. · 529 U.S. 803 (2000)
• Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly · 533 U.S. 525 (2001)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 557 (1980)
• Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego · 453 U.S. 490 (1981)
• Board of Ed., Island Trees Union Free School Dist. No. 26 v. Pico · 457 U.S. 853 (1982)
• National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley · 524 U.S. 569 (1998)
• Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union · 535 U.S. 564 (2002)
• Federal Communications Commission v. WNCN Listeners Guild · 450 U.S. 582 (1981)
• Maryland v. Craig · 497 U.S. 836 (1990)
• Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition · 535 U.S. 234 (2002)
• United States v. X-Citement Video, Inc. · 513 U.S. 64 (1994)
• Reiter v. Sonotone Corp. · 442 U.S. 330 (1979)
• Garcia v. United States · 469 U.S. 70 (1984)
• Jacobson v. United States · 503 U.S. 540 (1992)

Official text

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

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).