Home > Great American Court Cases > Turner Broadcasting System v. Federal Communications Commission

Legal Citation: 520 U.S. 180 (1997)

Appellant
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., et al.

Appellee
Federal Communications Commission, et al.

Appellant's Claim
That the Federal Communications Commission was violating the First Amendment rights of cable operators by requiring them to broadcast local channels.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant
H. Bartow Farr III

Chief Lawyer for Appellee
Bruce Ennis

Justices for the Court
Stephen Breyer, Anthony M. Kennedy (writing for the Court), William H. Rehnquist, David H. Souter, John Paul Stevens

Justices Dissenting
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
31 March 1997

Decision
Requiring cable systems to broadcast local stations was a "content neutral"...