About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

8 Geo. Mason U. L. Rev. 419 (1985-1986)
FCC v. League of Women Voters of California: Overkill in Response to Overbreadth

handle is hein.journals/gmaslr8 and id is 425 raw text is: FCC v. LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF CALIFORNIA: OVERKILL IN RESPONSE TO OVERBREADTH INTRODUCTION In FCC v. League of Women Voters of California,1 the Supreme Court applied a classic first amendment overbreadth analysis and inval- idated section 399 of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 (PBA or Act)2 which prohibited expression of editorial opinion by public broad- cast licensees. The ban on licensee editorializing had been limited to public broadcasting stations that received federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)3 and was intended to guard against governmental interference with the choice and broadcasting of editorials.4 The majority's analysis focused on the potential for federal interference or control of public broadcasting but virtually ignored the impact of its decision on possible interference by state and local govern- ments.5 However, a significant element of the public broadcasting in- dustry is owned and operated by state and local governments, or state licensees.6 This note demonstrates that the League of Women Voters holding, by allowing editorializing by state licensees, implicitly grants free speech rights to government entities. The Court clearly exceeded first amendment requirements in striking the ban as it applied to all public broadcast licensees, including state licensees. In resolving the perceived problem with the wide sweep of the ban, the Court's action in striking the ban suffers from overbreadth itself. This premise is proved by an 1. 104 S. Ct. 3106 (1984). 2. No noncommercial educational broadcasting station may engage in editorializing or may support or oppose any candidate for political office. Pub. L. No. 90-129, 81 Stat. 368 (1967) (codified as amended at 47 U.S.C. § 399 (1982)). 3. 47 U.S.C. § 399 (1976), amended by Pub. L. No. 97-35, 95 Stat. 726 (1981). 4. See infra notes 7-20 and accompanying text. 5. 104 S. Ct. at 3125. 6. The term state licensees is used to designate stations licensed to state or local govern- ment or an agency of state or local government, including colleges and universities. Of the 177 public television stations qualified to receive CPB funding, approximately 25% are state licensees and another 30% are licensed to universities (predominantly state universities or state boards of education). 2 National Association of Public Television Stations, Public Television and Radio and State Governments 358-61 (Sept. 1984). The impact of state licensees is evident not only in their numbers but in the size of the markets they serve, such as New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Denver, Miami, and the states of New Jersey, Maryland, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Id.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most