Bono, the Culture Wars, and a Profane Decision: the FCC's Reversal of Course on Indecency Determinations and Its New Path on Profanity
Bono, the Culture Wars, and a Profane Decision: The FCC's Reversal of Course on Indecency Determinations and Its New Path on Profanity Clay Calvert* INTRODUCTION The United States Supreme Court has rendered numerous high- profile opinions in the past thirty-five years regarding variations of the word "fuck." Paul Robert Cohen's anti-draft jacket,' Gregory Hess's threatening promise, 23George Carlin's satirical monologue,3 and Barbara Susan Papish's newspaper headline 4 quickly come to mind. 5 These now-aging opinions address important First Amendment issues of free speech, such as protection of political dissent,6 that continue to carry importance today. It is, however, a March 2004 ruling * Associate Professor of Communications & Law and Co-director of the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment at The Pennsylvania State University. B.A., 1987, Communication, Stanford University; J.D. with Great Distinction and Order of the Coif, 1991, McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific; Ph.D., 1996, Communication, Stanford University. Member, State Bar of California. 1. Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971) (protecting, as freedom of expression, the right to wear ajacket emblazoned with the words "Fuck the Draft" in a Los Angeles courthouse corridor). 2. Hess v. Indiana, 414 U.S. 105, 105 (1973) (protecting, as freedom of expression, defendant's statement, "We'll take the fucking street later (or again)," made during an anti-war demonstration on a university campus). 3. FCC v. Pacifica Found., 438 U.S. 726 (1978) (upholding the Federal Communications Commission's power to regulate indecent radio broadcasts and involving the radio play of several offensive words, including, but not limited to, "fuck" and "motherfucker").
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