Kevin Goldberg offers his take on the oral argument -- and likely outcome -- in Snyder v. Phelps, the first big First Amendment case heard by the Supreme Court this term.… Continue Reading
After the Second Circuit declared the FCC's indecency policy unconstitutional,the FCC had only three options if it wanted to fight to defend its indecency regime. It has now made its choice.… Continue Reading
In response to a surge of reader interest in his prognostications, Kevin Goldberg has agreed to give us a look-see into Kevin's Krystal Ball for a prediction of how the Supreme Court may vote if the Second Circuit's recent indecency decision in Fox goes back up.… Continue Reading
Now that the initial hoopla attendant to the release of the Second Circuit's Fox decision has quieted down, let's take a gander at legal scenarios that might be in store for us on the indecency front.… Continue Reading
In a huge win for broadcasters and First Amendment-loving citizens, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has struck down the FCC's indecency policy.… Continue Reading
Cablevision probably thought it had a good set of facts with which to take another run at must-carry in the courts. The Supreme Court apparently didn't think so, but we don't know why.… Continue Reading
The FCC trudged back into court on January 13 to defend the "fleeting expletives" portion of its indecency regime one more time. When last the Commission fought this particular fight in this particular arena, things didn't go so well for the agency. From what we saw, the Commission is not likely to fare any better this time around.… Continue Reading
Broadcasters facing a down advertising market have reason to cheer: the Supreme Court has struck down a ban on corporate spending for political advertising.… Continue Reading
Two days into its 2009-2010 term, the Supreme Court sank its teeth into a case which could have a profound impact on all First Amendment free speech rights, and particularly those of the news media. Kevin Goldberg attended the argument in U.S. v. Stevens - read his report here.… Continue Reading
In two terse-to-the-point-of-cryptic orders, the Supreme Court closed out its most recent term by sending important signals about (a) the future of election laws as they pertain to advertising and (b) the application of copyright law to new technologies.… Continue Reading
Check out these links for possible insight into how the appointment of Judge Sotomayor to replace Justice Souter might affect broadcasters and other media.… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the FCC's appeal of the 2008 decision which reversed the forfeiture meted out to CBS for the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident. But having agreed to hear the appeal, the Supremes lost no time in vacating the lower court's decision… Continue Reading
As previously reported, the Supreme Court has reversed the Second Circuit's ruling that the FCC's latest policy on "fleeting expletives" was fatally flawed. Here's a summary of the six opinions -- majority, concurring and dissenting -- issued by the Justices.… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited decision in FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. The good news here is that the Supreme Court's ruling changes very little on the indecency front. But the bad news is that the decision effects a major shift in a seemingly mundane legal doctrine, a shift that could affect FCC regulatory activity in all respects for years to come.… Continue Reading
Elsewhere on this blog we have posted reports about the oral argument in FCC v. Fox, the first broadcast indecency case to reach the Supreme Court in 30 years. From our notes taken during the argument, we have mined the following nuggets:… Continue Reading
Three FHH attorneys attended the Supreme Court oral argument in FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., the first broadcast indecency case to reach the high court in 30 years. They filed the following reports with www.CommLawBlog.com.… Continue Reading
