Year Case Significance
1983 Metropolitan Edison v. People Against
Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Regulatory
Commission
The Court ruled that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was not
required to consider the psychological health and well-being of a
community when deciding where to locate a nuclear power plant.1983 Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. State
Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission
This case challenged California’s authority to place a moratorium on
the construction of nuclear power plants. The Court ruled that states
were free to ban future nuclear power plants as long as the ban was
motivated by economic reasons and not by considerations of safety,
which were the responsibility of the federal government.1983 Mueller v. Allen The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice Burger, upheld a
Minnesota law allowing parents of children in public or private schools
to obtain a tuition tax reduction when paying their state income tax.
This 5-4 decision held that a state tax deduction for education expenses
was constitutional, even though parochial schools would reap most of
the benefits.
1984 Federal Communications Commission v.
League of Women Voters of California
In a 5-4 opinion, the Court struck down a federal regulation prohibiting
any noncommercial educational station that received government
funding from engaging in editorializing. The justices ruled that this
regulation violated the free speech rights of public broadcasters because
it curtailed the expression of editorial opinion that was at “the heart of
First Amendment protection.”1984 Grove City College v. Bell The Court upheld a federal requirement that colleges and universities
receiving federal funding must comply with a federal law prohibiting sex
discrimination in “any education program or activity receiving federal
financial assistance.” The justices ruled that this requirement did not
violate the First Amendment rights of colleges and their students.
l984 Lynch v. Donnelly By a 5-4 ruling, the Court held that an annual city park Christmas
display featuring a nativity scene was constitutional because the scene
was displayed with other Christmas symbols and was used to promote
retail sales and goodwill—not to endorse a particular religion. The case
arose because Daniel Donnelly, a resident of Pawtucket, Rhode Island,
objected to the city’s display and sued Pawtucket’s mayor, Dennis Lynch.
1984 Regan v. Time, Inc. Writing for a majority of the justices, Chief Justice Burger overturned as
unconstitutional part of a federal law designed to curb counterfeiting.
The Court ruled that aTimemagazine could publish illustrations of
United States’ currency as long as the illustrations were not in color and
not shown in actual size.
1984 Roberts v. United States Jaycees A unanimous Court upheld a Minnesota law barring private clubs from
discriminating against women. The justices ruled that the United States
Jaycees was not a private club, and, therefore, could not exclude women
from its membership. The Court would reach the same conclusion in
Rotary International v. Rotary Club of Duarte(1987).
1984 Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City
Studios, Inc.
Justice John Paul Stevens delivered the 5-4 opinion in a case addressing
entertainment corporations’ concerns about video piracy. The Court
ruled that home use of videocassette recorders (VCRs) to tape television
programs for later viewing did not violate federal copyright law. Justices
maintained that a VCR manufacturer’s sale of home VCRs that were
later used to record television programs did not violate the copyrights of
these programs’ producers.The Eighties in America Legislation: U.S. Supreme Court Decisions 1107