Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission Metro Broadcasting - Significance, Supreme Court Upholds Affirmative Action In Broadcasting, Further Readings

petitioner justices decision respondent

Petitioner

Metro Broadcasting, Inc.

Respondent

Federal Communications Commission

Petitioner's Claim

That federal programs designed to increase minority ownership of broadcast licenses violate the principle of equal protection.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

Gregory H. Guillot

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Daniel M. Armstrong

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr. (writing for the Court), Thurgood Marshall, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

Anthony M. Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor, William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

27 June 1990

Decision

The Supreme Court upheld Congress's power to enact legislation promoting affirmative action.

Related Cases

Fullilove v. Klutznick, 448 U.S. 448 (1980).
Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education, 476 U.S. 267 (1986).
Johnson v. Transportation Agency, 480 U.S. 646 (1987).
Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co., 488 U.S. 469 (1989).

Additional Topics

Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission Metro Broadcasting - Significance

In Metro Broadcasting, the Supreme Court for the first time endorsed a federal program intended to promote future minority diversification, rather than merely remedy past racial discrimination. In 1978, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted its Statement of Policy on Minority Ownership of Broadcasting Facilities. The statement outlined two FCC policies intended to expand minority own…

Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission Metro Broadcasting - Supreme Court Upholds Affirmative Action In Broadcasting

In the Supreme Court, Metro challenged the notion that FCC programs aimed at increasing minority ownership would further the national goal of promoting programming diversification. Writing for the Court, Justice Brennan declared that it did. In approving the FCC's policies:Congress found that "the effects of past inequities stemming from racial and ethnic discrimination have resulted in a severe u…

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