In the 1990 case of Leathers v. Medlock, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that Arkansas' tax on cable television services did not violate the First Amendment or Commerce Clause. The plaintiffs argued that by taxing cable TV but exempting satellite broadcast and newspaper subscriptions, Arkansas was discriminating against a particular form of media in violation of their constitutional rights to free speech and press. However, the court held that differential taxation is not necessarily unconstitutional if it does not prevent or unduly burden interstate commerce nor discriminate against interstate businesses for competitive advantage over local ones. Furthermore, they noted there was no evidence suggesting this tax had an adverse impact on freedom of expression or interfered with viewers’ access to information.

In the dissenting opinion for Leathers v. Medlock, Justice Blackmun argued that Arkansas' tax on cable television services was a violation of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech. He contended that by taxing one form of media (cable television) and not others (such as newspapers or magazines), Arkansas was effectively discriminating against certain types of speech based on their medium, which is unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's assertion that cable TV should be treated differently because it uses public resources (i.e., public airwaves). Instead, he believed all forms of media use some type of public resource and thus should be treated equally under law. Lastly, Justice Blackmun expressed concern about potential chilling effects this decision could have on free expression in other mediums if states were allowed to selectively tax them.