CINCINNATI—The three-judge panel at the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals selected for oral arguments in the highly anticipated net neutrality case are all appointees of former GOP presidencies, reports Broadband Breakfast. Per that reporting, the judges named to the panel are Richard Allen Griffin, Raymond M. Kethledge, and John K. Bush.
Former President George Bush appointed Judge Griffin and Judge Kethledge in 2005 and 2008, respectively. Former President Donald Trump appointed Judge Bush in 2017.
Oral arguments are scheduled for Halloween.
Considering this information, there is more indication that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could be dealt a loss in defending net neutrality rules the agency reinstated earlier this year. In the months following, broadband providers and other internet service providers sued in at least nine different federal courts to block the FCC.
An administrative judicial panel consolidated the cases to the Sixth Circuit. So far, the Sixth Circuit has postured toward the arguments made by private industry groups that sued to block the FCC’s net neutrality laws. A panel of the court admitted that the industry groups suing the FCC are likely to succeed on the merits of the case in securing a victory and declaring FCC net neutrality and broadband speed equity requirements unconstitutional.
The selection of the judges further signals a potential victory for private industry against the FCC.
Broadband trade organizations including groups like USTelecom and CTIA have lauded the Sixth Circuit’s panel which said the rules violated standing by a controversial ruling recently adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Said ruling overturned the Chevron doctrine. In Chevron, the Supreme Court determined that courts must defer to agencies for interpretations of authority granted to them by acts of Congress. This includes whether the intent of Congress was ambiguous and whether the interpretation is considered to be reasonable and permissible by a court.
AVN has reported extensively on the FCC under the Biden White House reinstating net neutrality that eliminates “throttling” on websites that have controversial speech and are subject to the whims of large internet service providers and telecommunications companies, including Verizon, Comcast, AT&T Fiber, and others.
