Minority Television Project, Inc. v. FCC, No. 13-1124, Brief for Amici Curiae Law Professors in Support of Petitioner

35 Pages Posted: 23 Apr 2014

See all articles by James Ming Chen

James Ming Chen

Michigan State University - College of Law

Neil Ende

Technology Law Group, LLC

Steve Stojic

Gallagher, Boland & Meiburger LLP

Date Written: April 18, 2014

Abstract

This brief amicus curiae in support of petitioner Minority Television Project in Minority Television Project, Inc. v. FCC, 736 F.3d 1192 (9th Cir. 2013), petition filed, No. 13-1124 (March 17, 2014), urges the Supreme Court of the United States to overrule Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 395 U.S. 367 (1969). The brief presents three reasons why the Court should overrule Red Lion. First, overwhelming technological change compels reexamination of Red Lion. The proliferation of electronic media for distributing multichannel audio and video programming has undermined Red Lion’s scarcity rationale. Second, Red Lion has been so thoroughly discredited in all branches of government that further adherence to that precedent would undermine rather than promote respect for the Court’s decisionmaking process and for the rule of law. Finally, this case demonstrates how the continued isolation of broadcast media from First Amendment norms that govern all other media and conduits inflicts serious harm to the constitutional interest in free speech.

The academic signatories of this brief were: Ashutosh A. Bhagwat (UC Davis), Dale Carpenter (Minnesota), James Ming Chen (Michigan State), Eric M. Freedman (Hofstra), Patrick Garry (South Dakota), Mehmet K. Konar-Steenberg (William Mitchell) Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky (Florida), Kevin Francis O'Neil (Cleveland State), Michael Stokes Paulsen (St. Thomas, Minnesota), Daniel D. Polsby (George Mason), Lucas A. Powe, Jr. (Texas), Matthew L. Spitzer (Northwestern), Eugene Volokh (UCLA).

Suggested Citation

Chen, James Ming and Ende, Neil and Stojic, Steve, Minority Television Project, Inc. v. FCC, No. 13-1124, Brief for Amici Curiae Law Professors in Support of Petitioner (April 18, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2427933 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2427933

James Ming Chen (Contact Author)

Michigan State University - College of Law ( email )

318 Law College Building
East Lansing, MI 48824-1300
United States

Neil Ende

Technology Law Group, LLC ( email )

5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20015
United States

Steve Stojic

Gallagher, Boland & Meiburger LLP ( email )

818 18th St., NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20006
United States

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