D.C. Memo: FCC to Face All-GOP Judges in Net Neutrality Case
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Net Neutrality: The judges named Tuesday to hear the challenge to the rules were all appointed by Republican presidents. The judges named were Richard Allen Griffin, Raymond M. Kethledge, and John K. Bush. Griffin was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005, Kethledge by Bush in 2008, and Bush by President Donald J. Trump in 2017. Of the three judges, Kethledge, a former clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, is probably the best known. In the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump included Kethledge on the list of judges from which he would select the successor to late Justice Antonin Scalia. Trump picked Neil Gorsuch. In a speech last Thursday, New Street Research analyst Blair Levin said it was "highly likely" the FCC would lose the Net Neutrality case and thus its authority to impose various conduct-based restrictions on broadband ISPs. The Sixth Circuit has 30 judges – 20 Republicans and 10 Democrats. However, six Republicans and one Democrat have taken senior status, leaving the court with 23 active judges, including 14 Republicans and nine Democrats. A different Six Circuit panel that included two Democratic appointees blocked the FCC’s Net Neutrality rules on Aug. 1. Oral arguments on the merits are scheduled for Oct. 31 in Cincinnati.
