Odds of FCC SCOTUS Victory on Prometheus Appeal Higher Than 50%, Says FHH's Kirkpatrick
The odds of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' Prometheus IV ruling are better than 50% -- “particularly if Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to the Court” -- but it's “certainly no sure thing,”…
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wrote Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Dan Kirkpatrick in a blog post Thursday (see 2010020059). A SCOTUS decision that reestablishes the broadcast ownership rule relaxations knocked down by the 3rd Circuit “could lead to increased broadcast deal-making, and potential consolidation,” Kirkpatrick said. If SCOTUS upholds the 3rd Circuit, the court’s remand to the FCC would proceed, and the matter would likely be part of the pending 2018 quadrennial review, he said. The FCC would likely have to gather the ownership and diversity data required by the court in that scenario, prolonging the review process. “The outcome of any such review would, of course, also be significantly impacted by whether a Republican or Democratic-controlled FCC is conducting that review,” Kirkpatrick said. SCOTUS could also rule separately on whether the case continues to fall under the jurisdiction of the 3rd Circuit, said the blog. Since the statute will still require future quadrennial reviews, “the saga of the FCC’s media ownership rules has a ways to go,” Kirkpatrick said.