The Supreme Court on Monday stepped into a legal fight over the use of curse words on the airwaves, the high court’s first major case on broadcast indecency in 30 years.
The case concerns a Federal Communications Commission policy that allows for fines against broadcasters for so-called “fleeting expletives,” one-time uses of the F-word or its close cousins.
Fox, with ABC, CBS and NBC, challenged the new policy after the commission said broadcasts of awards shows in 2002 and 2003 were indecent because of profanity used by Bono, Cher and Nicole Richie.
A federal appeals court said the new policy was invalid and could violate the First Amendment.
No fines were issued in the incidents, but the FCC could impose fines for future violations of the policy.
The case before the court technically involves only two airings on Fox of the “Billboard Music Awards” in which celebrities’ expletives were broadcast.
The case will be argued in the fall.
Other action
On Monday, the Supreme Court:
– Intervened in a dispute over whether prosecutors can use crime lab reports as evidence without having the forensic analyst who prepared them testify
– Agreed to decide a case over the drawing of legislative boundaries that could affect the ability of minorities to elect their candidates of choice
– Agreed to consider reinstating the murder conviction of the driver in a gang-related drive-by shooting that horrified Seattle in 1994
– Declined to consider a lawsuit accusing tobacco companies of turning minors into smokers by targeting them with cigarette advertising
