Regulating the Media: Court Cases Flashcards
What is the background behind Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission?
Citizens United created a documentary aimed at Senator Clinton during the 2008 race, and ran ads to urge others to order it on-demand to watch. In the court case Citizens United sought an injunction against the Federal Election Commission in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent the application of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) to its film Hillary: The Movie. The Movie expressed opinions about whether Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton would make a good president. 1) Section 203 violates the First Amendment on its face and when applied to The Movie and its related advertisements, and that 2) Sections 201 and 203 are also unconstitutional as applied to the circumstances.
What was the issue behind Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission?
Whether section 441b of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act BCRA which criminalizes ads produced by corporations that expressly advocate for or against a candidate within 30 days of the primary elections and within 60 days of the general election is constitutional.
What was the ruling behind Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission?
5-4 opinion. The United States Supreme Court held that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by a nonprofit corporation. The principles articulated by the Supreme Court in the case have also been extended to for-profit corporations, labor unions and other associations. The United States District Court denied the injunction. Section 203 on its face was not unconstitutional because the Supreme Court in McConnell v. FEC had already reached that determination. The District Court also held that The Movie was the functional equivalent of express advocacy, as it attempted to inform voters that Senator Clinton was unfit for office, and thus Section 203 was not unconstitutionally applied. Lastly, it held that Sections 201 and 203 were not unconstitutional as applied to the The Movie or its advertisements. The court reasoned that the McConnell decision recognized that disclosure of donors “might be unconstitutional if it imposed an unconstitutional burden on the freedom to associate in support of a particular cause,” but those circumstances did not exist in Citizen United’s claim.
What is the background behind Harper & Row v. Nation?
In 1977, former President Gerald Ford contracted with Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. to publish his memoirs. Harper & Row negotiated a prepublication agreement with Time Magazine for the right to excerpt 7,500 words from Ford’s account of his pardon of former President Richard Nixon. Before Time released its article, an unauthorized source provided The Nation Magazine with the unpublished Ford manuscript. Subsequently, The Nation, using approximately 300 words from the manuscript, scooped Time. Harper & Row sued The Nation, alleging violations of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. The District Court held that The Nation’s use of the copyrighted material constituted infringement. In reversing, the Court of Appeals held that Nation’s use of the copyrighted material was sanctioned as a fair use.
What was the issue behind Harper & Row v. Nation?
Did the Copyright Revision Act of 1976’s fair use doctrine sanction The Nation’s unauthorized use of quotations from former President Gerald Ford’s unpublished manuscript?
What was the ruling behind Harper & Row v. Nation?
6-3 opinion. Fair use is not a defense to the appropriation of work by a famous political figure because of the public interest in learning of that political figure’s account of a historic event. The Nation’s use of verbatim excerpts from the unpublished manuscript was not a fair use. The Court reasoned that the unpublished nature of a work is a key, though not necessarily determinative, factor tending to negate a defense of fair use. “Under ordinary circumstances, the author’s right to control the first public appearance of his undisseminated expression will outweigh a claim of fair use,” wrote Justice O’Connor. Accordingly, the Court concluded that the four statutory factors relevant to determining whether the use was fair were not satisfied. In his dissent, Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., argued that the Court was advancing the protection of the copyright owner’s economic interest “through an exceedingly narrow definition of the scope of fair use.”
What is the background behind Va. Pharmacy Bd. v. Va. Cits’ Consumer Council?
Acting on behalf of prescription drug consumers, the Virginia Citizens Consumer Council challenged a Virginia statute that declared it unprofessional conduct for licensed pharmacists to advertise their prescription drug prices. On appeal from an adverse ruling by a three-judge District Court panel, the Supreme Court granted the Virginia State Board of Pharmacy review.
What was the issue behind Va. Pharmacy Bd. v. Va. Cits’ Consumer Council?
Is a statutory ban on advertising prescription drug prices by licensed pharmacists a violation of “commercial speech” under the First Amendment?
What was the ruling behind Va. Pharmacy Bd. v. Va. Cits’ Consumer Council?
7-1 opinion. The United States Supreme Court held that a state could not limit pharmacists’ right to provide information about prescription drug prices. This was an important case in determining the application of the First Amendment to commercial speech. Yes, the Court held that the First Amendment protects willing speakers and willing listeners equally. The Court noted that in cases of commercial speech, such as price advertising, freedom of speech protections apply just as they would to noncommercial speech. Even speech that is sold for profit, or involves financial solicitations, is protected. The Court concluded that although the Virginia State Board of Pharmacy has a legitimate interest in preserving professionalism among its members, it may not do so at the expense of public knowledge about lawful competitive pricing terms
What is the background behind Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC?
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) fairness doctrine requires radio and television broadcasters to present a balanced and fair discussion of public issues on the airwaves. The doctrine is composed of two primary requirements concerning personal attacks in the context of public issue debates and political editorializing. The FCC conditioned its renewal of broadcast licenses on compliance with its regulations. Red Lion Broadcasting challenged the application of the fairness doctrine with respect to a particular broadcast. In a companion case (United States v. Radio Television News Directors Association (RTNDA)), the fairness doctrine’s requirements concerning any broadcast were challenged.
What was the issue behind Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC?
Do the FCC’s fairness doctrine regulations, concerning personal attacks made in the context of public issue debates and political editorializing, violate the First Amendment’s freedom of speech guarantees?
What was the ruling behind Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC?
7-0. While strongly suggesting that broadcast radio stations (and by logical extension, television stations) are First Amendment speakers whose editorial speech is protected, upheld the equal time provisions of the Fairness Doctrine ruling that it was “the right of the public to receive suitable access to social, political, esthetic, moral, and other ideas and experiences which is crucial here.” 395 U.S. at 390. In upholding the Fairness Doctrine, the Court based its rationale partly on a scarce radio spectrum. In a unanimous decision, the Court held that the fairness doctrine was consistent with the First Amendment. Writing for the Court, Justice White argued that spectrum scarcity made it “idle to posit an unabridgeable First Amendment right to broadcast comparable to the right of every individual to speak, write, or publish.” The Court held that the FCC’s fairness doctrine regulations enhanced rather than infringed the freedoms of speech protected under the First Amendment. With respect to the regulation of personal attacks made in the context of public issue debates, the FCC’s requirement that the subject of the attack be provided with a tape, transcript, or broadcast summary, as well as an opportunity to respond without having to prove an inability to pay for the “air-time,” insured a balanced and open discussion of contested issues. The requirement that political editorializing be presented for and against both sides of the debated issues also contributed to the balanced discussion of public concerns.
What is the background behind Miami Herald Pub. Co. v. Tornillo?
Pat Tornillo was Executive Director of the Classroom Teachers Association and a candidate for the Florida House of Representatives in Dade County, Florida. The Miami Herald published two editorials criticizing Tornillo and his candidacy. He demanded that the Herald publish his responses to the editorials. When the Herald refused, Tornillo sued in Dade County Circuit Court under Florida Statute Section 104.38, which granted political candidates criticized by any newspaper the right to have their responses to the criticisms published. The Herald challenged the statute as a violation of the free press clause of the First Amendment. The Circuit Court ruled that the statute was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court of Florida reversed this decision.
What was the issue behind Miami Herald Pub. Co. v. Tornillo?
Did Florida Statute Section 104.38, the “right to reply” statute, violate the free press clause of the First Amendment applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment?
What was the ruling behind Miami Herald Pub. Co. v. Tornillo?
Decision: 9 votes for Miami Herald Publishing Co., 0 vote(s) against Yes. In a unanimous decision, the Court reversed the Supreme Court of Florida and held that Florida’s “right to reply” statute violated the freedom of press found in the First Amendment. In an opinion written by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, the Court recognized the risks posed to the “true marketplace of ideas” by media consolidation and barriers to entry in the newspaper industry. However, even in that context, “press responsibility is not mandated by the Constitution and…cannot be legislated.” The statute was an “intrusion into the function of editors,” and imposed “a penalty on the basis of the content.” Chief Justice Burger relied on New York Times v. Sullivan in that the “right to reply” statute “limits the variety of public debate,” and was therefore unconstitutional. Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. authored a concurring statement. Justice Byron R. White authored a concurring opinion.