National Endowment for the Arts, et al. v. Karen Finley, et al.

Decided June 25, 1998. Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 97-371 · 524 U.S. 569 (1998) · Cited 488 times

Holding

Section 954(d)(1) is facially valid, as it neither inherently interferes with First Amendment rights nor violates constitutional vagueness principles.

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 8–1.

“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.

• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Rust v. Sullivan · 500 U.S. 173 (1991)
• Regan v. Taxation With Representation of Washington · 461 U.S. 540 (1983)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
• United States v. Salerno · 481 U.S. 739 (1987)
• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union · 521 U.S. 844 (1997)
• Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District · 508 U.S. 384 (1993)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. · 455 U.S. 489 (1982)
• Ward v. Rock Against Racism · 491 U.S. 781 (1989)
• New York v. Ferber · 458 U.S. 747 (1982)
• FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas · 493 U.S. 215 (1990)
• Speiser v. Randall · 357 U.S. 513 (1958)
• City of Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Publishing Co. · 486 U.S. 750 (1988)
• Schad v. Borough of Mount Ephraim · 452 U.S. 61 (1981)
• Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement · 505 U.S. 123 (1992)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation · 438 U.S. 726 (1978)
• Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Members of the New York State Crime Victims Board · 502 U.S. 105 (1991)
• Arkansas Educational Television Commission v. Forbes · 523 U.S. 666 (1998)
• Arkansas Writers' Project, Inc. v. Ragland · 481 U.S. 221 (1987)
• Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 518 U.S. 727 (1996)
• Leathers v. Medlock · 499 U.S. 439 (1991)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Perry Education Ass'n v. Perry Local Educators' Ass'n · 460 U.S. 37 (1983)
• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey · 505 U.S. 833 (1992)
• Members of the City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent · 466 U.S. 789 (1984)
• Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. · 466 U.S. 485 (1984)
• Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. · 473 U.S. 788 (1985)
• Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission · 395 U.S. 367 (1969)

Cited by

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

• United States v. American Library Assn., Inc. · 539 U.S. 194 (2003)
• Iancu v. Brunetti · 588 U.S. 388 (2019)
• Legal Services Corp. v. Velazquez · 531 U.S. 533 (2001)
• Agency for Int'l Development v. Alliance for Open Society Int'l, Inc. · 570 U.S. 205 (2013)
• Matal v. Tam · 582 U.S. 218 (2017)
• Christian Legal Soc. Chapter of Univ. of Cal., Hastings College of Law v. Martinez · 561 U.S. 661 (2010)
• Hill v. Colorado · 530 U.S. 703 (2000)
• Pleasant Grove City v. Summum · 555 U.S. 460 (2009)
• Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth · 529 U.S. 217 (2000)
• Los Angeles Police Department v. United Reporting Publishing Corp. · 528 U.S. 32 (1999)
• Ysursa v. Pocatello Education Ass'n · 555 U.S. 353 (2009)
• Vidal v. Elster · 602 U.S. 286 (2024)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1998). 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).