The Supreme Court on April 21 seemed poised to rein in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) power to levy large fines through its in-house adjudication system.
In the cases of FCC v. AT&T and Verizon Communications v. FCC, which were heard together, the telecommunications companies argued that provisions in the federal Communications Act of 1934 are unconstitutional. The statute that allows the FCC to use in-house adjudications to impose penalties without going to court violates the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial in federal civil cases, the companies say.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said the so-called forfeiture orders requiring payment prior to a trial do not violate the Seventh Amendment because there is no legal obligation for companies to pay the fines until they have been adjudicated by a duly appointed federal judge….
Supreme Court Seems Inclined to Limit FCC’s Authority to Issue Fines
