United States Tenth Circuit

In a petition for review of an FCC regulation prohibiting contacting telecommunications relay services users for lobbying purposes, the petition is granted, where: 1) the FCC provided no explanation for why lobbying was singled out for prohibition; and 2) the regulation impaired providers' right to engage in political and commercial speech without any showing that it was narrowly tailored to advance a significant government interest.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/04/2009
• Published 06/04/2009

Judges

• MURPHY, Circuit Judge., Before TACHA, MURPHY and TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. (Ian Heath Gershengorn, Michael B. DeSanctis, Ginger D. Anders and Jonathan F. Olin, with him on the briefs), Jenner & Block LLP, Washington, D.C., for Intervenor-Petitioner, Sorenson Communications, Inc., Karl Buch of Chadbourne & Parke LLP, New York, New York (Dana Frix of Chadbourne & Parke LLP, Washington, D.C., with him on the briefs), for Intervenor-Petitioner, Go America, Inc.


• For Appellees:
  
• Jacob Lewis, General Counsel, Federal Communication Commission, Washington, D.C. (Deborah A. Garza, Acting Assistant Attorney General;  James J. O'Connell, Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General;  Robert B. Nicholson and Robert J. Wiggers, Attorneys, United States Department of Justice, Washington D.C;  Matthew L. Berry, General Counsel;  Joseph R. Palmore, Deputy General Counsel;  Daniel M. Armstrong, Associate General Counsel;  and C. Grey Pash, Jr., Counsel, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, D.C., on the briefs), for Respondents, Federal Communications Commission and the United States of America.