Two weeks ago, we speculated that the Court would grant certiorari in Minority Television Project, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission (9th Cir. 2013) 736 F.3d 1192 (en banc) (lead opn. of McKeown, J.). In the case, a public broadcast station challenged the federal statute limiting public broadcast stations airing paid advertisements for (a) for-profit entities, (b) issues of public importance or interest, and (c) political candidates.
We speculated that given the Supreme Court’s propensity to reverse Ninth Circuit decisions, the majority’s recent interest in rejecting government regulation of political speech (see Citizens United v. FEC (2010) 558 U.S. 310), and a strong dissenting opinion by Chief Judge Kozinski, there was very good chance that the Court would grant certiorari.
The justices humbled us. On June 30, 2014, the Court denied the petition for certiorari. Whether this has larger implications for the application or inapplication of Cititizens United remains to be seen.
