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Metro Broadcasting, Inc. V. Fcc: Are Racial Classifications No Longer Subject To Strict Scrutiny?, Amanda Robinson

Mercer Law Review

In Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. FCC, the Supreme Court addressed whether two minority preference programs of the Federal Communications Commission (the "Commission") were consistent with the fifth amendment principle of equal protection. The majority, in an opinion written by Justice Brennan, held that the programs, one awarding an advantage to minority ownership in comparative hearings for new licenses and the other permitting a limited category of existing broadcast stations to be transferred solely to enterprises controlled by minorities, were constitutional. The majority declined to apply a standard of strict scrutiny to the minority preference programs.