Posted on 02/24/2010 11:31:45 AM PST by a fool in paradise
After six years of legal wrangling and one Supreme Court review of Janet Jackson's infamous Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction," CBS argued anew Tuesday that it should not be held responsible for the half-second of nudity.
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia had thrown out the FCC's $550,000 fine against CBS as arbitrary, only to have the U.S. Supreme Court kick it back down for review. The Supreme Court pointed to its ruling in a Fox Television-led challenge, when it said the FCC could threaten fines over the use of a single curse word on live TV.
...CBS was duly warned that its 2004 halftime performers might add some shock value to the act. Jackson's choreographer had promised as much, FCC lawyer Jacob Lewis said...
CBS complained that the FCC had previously applied the same decency standards to words and images — and excused fleeting instances of both.
Judge Marjorie Rendell seemed to agree, noting that the FCC could have stated in its rules that nudity was another thing entirely from bad language...
Lewis replied that the duration of the offense is not the only factor, but must be weighed along with the content of the material, in this case Jackson's bare breast...
The three-judge panel is the same one that heard CBS' original appeal of the FCC fine, siding with the network in 2008. The judges noted the Supreme Court's directive to review their handiwork. Yet they peppered CBS for other angles that might support their decision...
"So if the 3rd Circuit got it wrong in our first opinion, how could CBS be expected to get it right?" Chief Judge Anthony Scirica asked.
...The 3rd Circuit judges could remand the CBS case to the FCC for more fact finding. They did not indicate when they would rule.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
It was a mutilated nipple. She procured the nipple piercing in Houston prior to showtime. It was part of a matched set, only one was purchased. Only one was needed for broadcast.
Why does anyone still care about this?
How much has Viacom spent fighting against a fine over a deliberate act?
It’s like the court action to release Obama’s birth certificate. We are told that there is “nothing there” but still they draw it out.
Because maybe I would like to watch the Super Bowl with my kids without having to worry about it turning into an R-rated filth-fest.
This event was a huge blessing... CBS never airs the Tim Tebow ad without this PR malfunction from 6 years ago.
I personally wish that every last member of the Jackon family would move to Mars and never come back. Janet is repulsive and overrated.
That being said, all of this stupidity could easily be avoided if the idiots in the NFL would allow college marching bands to perform at half time, as they used to do years ago.
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