Looks like two trips to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals isn’t enough for the Federal Communications Commission in the so-called “fleeting expletives” case.
In July, you’ll recall, a three-judge 2nd Circuit panel ruled that the 2004 FCC policy fining broadcasters for airing certain fleeting expletives (such as Bono’s proclamation at the 1994 Grammy Awards telecast that his award was “fucking brilliant”) was unconstitutionally vague under the First Amendment. (We were tickled by the careful analysis Judge Rosemary Pooler gave to such phrases as “dickweed” and “kiss my ass.”) The appellate court’s July holding was the second time the same three-judge panel had heard a challenge to the FCC policy by Fox Television; the 2nd Circuit had previously declared the policy unconstitutional but the U.S. Supreme Court reversed and remanded.
