WASHINGTON – Solicitor General Paul D. Clement has authorized an FCC petition for the Supreme Court to review an appeals court decision invalidating the FCC policy on profanity. Clement, who represents federal agencies in Supreme Court cases, confirmed his support of the petition in his request for a deadline extension.
"The solicitor general has decided to authorize the filing of a petition for a writ of certiori in this case," said Clement. The solicitor general requested the deadline be extended to Nov. 1 to "permit the printing of the petition and because the attorneys with principal responsibility for drafting the petition have been heavily engaged with the press of other matters before the court."
The Supreme Court will still need to make a decision on whether to actually hear the case. According to the Associated Press, if the high court decides to go forward with it, the case will be its first review of broadcast speech in three decades.
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York found earlier this year that the FCC failed to justify its crackdown on profanity and “fleeting expletives” following the commission's uproar over language heard during the Fox Billboard Music Awards.
“I am pleased that the solicitor general will be seeking Supreme Court review of the Second Circuit's decision,” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told the Associated Press in a statement. “I continue to support the commission's efforts to protect families from indecent language on television and radio when children are likely to be in the audience.”
