NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS V. FINLEY
524 U.S. 569 (1998)
NATURE OF THE CASE: This was a dispute over the requirements of the NEA to ensure artistic merit under the standards of general decency and respect for diverse beliefs and values of the American public. The Court of Appeals' determined that the statute impermissibly discriminates on the basis of viewpoint, and is void for vagueness under the First and Fifth Amendments.
FACTS: Congress was upset over the homoerotic work of Mapplethorpe and Serrano's work called the Piss Christ both of whom had been given grants under the NEA and as such Congress passed 954(d)(1) and the NEA adopted its provisions in its regulations. NEA was required to ensure that it only funded works of artistic merit judged under a standard of decency and respect for diverse beliefs and values of the American public. Finley (P) were artists who were denied a grant under the new standard and they sued under the First Amendment. The District Court granted summary judgment in favor of P on their facial constitutional challenge to 954(d)(1). The court ruled that the First Amendment constrains the NEA's grant making process, and 954(d)(1) is impermissibly overbroad on its face. A divided panel of the Court of Appeals affirmed. The court ruled that 954(d)(1) violates the First Amendment's prohibition on viewpoint-based restrictions on protected speech. It found that Government funding of the arts, is both a 'traditional sphere of free expression,' and an area in which the Government has stated its intention to 'encourage a diversity of views from private speakers.' The NEA failed to articulate a compelling interest for the provision, and the court declared it facially invalid.
ISSUE:
RULE OF LAW:
HOLDING AND
DECISION:
LEGAL ANALYSIS:
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