Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission of New York
United States Supreme Court
447 U.S. 557 (1980)
- Written by Megan Petersen, JD
Facts
In December 1973, the Public Service Commission of New York (PSC) (defendant) ordered electric utilities in New York to cease all advertising that promoted the use of electricity. This was based on the PSC’s finding that New York did not have sufficient fuel resources to continue furnishing customers’ demands for electricity during the winter months. Three years later, after the fuel shortage ceased, the PSC requested comments from the public on its proposal to continue the ban on promotional advertising. Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation (CHGEC) (plaintiff) opposed the ban on First Amendment grounds. After reviewing public comments, the PSC extended the prohibition until 1977. CHGEC brought suit in state court seeking to overturn the prohibition on First Amendment grounds. The state court upheld the prohibition, and the court of appeals affirmed. CHGEC appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Powell, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.