Constitutional Law Keyed to Stone
FCC v. Pacifica Foundation
Facts
On October 30, 1973, at 2:00 p.m., a New York radio station, owned by the Respondent, Pacifica Foundation (Respondent) broadcast the “Filthy Words” monologue. A few weeks later, a man who stated that he heard the broadcast while driving with his young son, wrote a letter complaining to the Petitioner, the Federal Communications Commission (Petitioner). In response to the complaint, the Respondent explained that the monologue had been played during a program about contemporary society’s attitude toward language and that, immediately before its broadcast, listeners had been advised of the monologue’s language. The Petitioner, after characterizing the language as patently offensive, though not necessarily obscene, issued a declaratory order granting the complaint, but not imposing any formal sanctions. The Petitioner concluded that the language as broadcast was indecent and prohibited by 18 U.S.C. Section:1464, prohibiting the broadcast of obscene, indecent or profane language. The Unit ed States Court of Appeals reversed.
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