Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission et al.

Decided June 27, 1990. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-453 · 497 U.S. 547 (1990) · Cited 280 times

Holding

The FCC policies do not violate equal protection, since they bear the imprimatur of longstanding congressional support and direction and are substantially related to the achievement of the important governmental objective of broadcast diversity.

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 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.

• Fullilove v. Klutznick · 448 U.S. 448 (1980)
• City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co. · 488 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education · 476 U.S. 267 (1986)
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke · 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
• Plessy v. Ferguson · 163 U.S. 537 (1896)
• Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld · 420 U.S. 636 (1975)
• Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission · 395 U.S. 367 (1969)
• Bolling v. Sharpe · 347 U.S. 497 (1954)
• Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan · 458 U.S. 718 (1982)
• Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara Cty. · 480 U.S. 616 (1987)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Craig v. Boren · 429 U.S. 190 (1976)
• Korematsu v. United States · 323 U.S. 214 (1945)
• Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Democratic National Committee · 412 U.S. 94 (1973)
• United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburgh, Inc. v. Carey · 430 U.S. 144 (1977)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• National Broadcasting Co. v. United States · 319 U.S. 190 (1943)
• City of Los Angeles Department of Water v. Manhart · 435 U.S. 702 (1978)
• Orr v. Orr · 440 U.S. 268 (1979)
• Associated Press v. United States · 326 U.S. 1 (1945)
• Federal Communications Commission v. League of Women Voters of California · 468 U.S. 364 (1984)
• United States v. Paradise · 480 U.S. 149 (1987)
• Federal Communications Commission v. National Citizens Committee for Broadcasting · 436 U.S. 775 (1978)
• Ashbacker Radio Corp. v. Federal Communications Commission · 326 U.S. 327 (1946)
• Federal Communications Commission v. WNCN Listeners Guild · 450 U.S. 582 (1981)
• United States v. Munoz-Flores · 495 U.S. 385 (1990)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• Taylor v. Louisiana · 419 U.S. 522 (1975)
• Duren v. Missouri · 439 U.S. 357 (1979)
• Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill · 437 U.S. 153 (1978)

Cited by

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

• Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena · 515 U.S. 200 (1995)
• Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 · 551 U.S. 701 (2007)
• Miller v. Johnson · 515 U.S. 900 (1995)
• Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin · 570 U.S. 297 (2013)
• Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. · 551 U.S. 449 (2007)
• Bush v. Vera · 517 U.S. 952 (1996)
• JEB v. Alabama Ex Rel. TB · 511 U.S. 127 (1994)
• Payne v. Tennessee · 501 U.S. 808 (1991)
• Agostini v. Felton · 521 U.S. 203 (1997)
• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 512 U.S. 622 (1994)
• Foucha v. Louisiana · 504 U.S. 71 (1992)
• Johnson v. De Grandy · 512 U.S. 997 (1994)
• United States v. Virginia · 518 U.S. 515 (1996)
• Grutter v. Bollinger · 539 U.S. 306 (2003)
• Gratz v. Bollinger · 539 U.S. 244 (2003)
• Tuan Anh Nguyen v. Immigration & Naturalization Service · 533 U.S. 53 (2001)
• FCC v. Prometheus Radio Project · 592 U.S. 414 (2021)
• Berger v. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP · 597 U.S. 179 (2022)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1990). 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).