572
Opinion of the Court
Solicitor General Waxman argued the cause for petitioners. With him on the briefs were Assistant Attorney General Hunger, Deputy Solicitor General Kneedler, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Preston, Jeffrey P. Minear, William Kanter, Alfred Mollin, and Karen Christensen.
David Cole argued the cause for respondents. With him on the briefs were Ellen Yaroshefsky, Marjorie Heins, Steven R. Shapiro, Mary D. Dorman, and Carol Sobel.*
Justice OTMConnor delivered the opinion of the Court.† The National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965, as amended in 1990, 104 Stat. 1963, requires the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to ensure that "artistic excellence and artistic merit are the criteria by which [grant] applications are judged, taking into consideration general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public." 20 U. S. C. § 954(d)(1). In this case, we review the Court of Ap*Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were filed for the American Center for Law and Justice by Jay A. Sekulow, Colby M. May, James M. Henderson, Sr., and John P. Tuskey; for Liberty Counsel by Mathew D. Staver and Frederick H. Nelson; and for the National Family Legal Foundation by Len L. Munsil.
Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the American Association of University Professors et al. by John Joshua Wheeler, Jonathan R. Alger, and Jeffrey P. Cunard; for Americans United for Separation of Church and State by Steven K. Green, Julie A. Segal, and Edward Tabash; for the Family Research Institute of Wisconsin by Daniel Kelly; for the New School for Social Research et al. by Floyd Abrams, Burt Neuborne, Kathleen M. Sullivan, Jonathan Sherman, Elai Katz, and Deborah Goldberg; for the Rockefeller Foundation by Donald B. Verrilli, Jr.; for Twenty-Six Arts, Broadcast, Library, Museum and Publishing Amici Curiae by James F. Fitzpatrick, James A. Dobkin, Matthew T. Heartney, Mark R. Drozdowski, Elliot M. Mincberg, and Lawrence S. Ottinger; for Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts et al. by Marci A. Hamilton; and for Claes Oldenburg et al. by Gloria C. Phares.
Paul J. McGeady and Robert W. Peters filed a brief for Morality in Media, Inc., as amicus curiae.
†Justice Ginsburg joins all but Part II-B of this opinion.
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