In National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley, 524 U.S. 569 (1998), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act, as amended in 1990, (20 U.S.C. ยง 954 (d)(1)), which required 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" was facially valid, as it neither inherently interfered with First Amendment rights nor violated constitutional vagueness principles. Justice O'Connor delivered the opinion of the Court.