Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

U.S. Justice Alito recusal ‘mistake’ cost networks in fleeting expletive case

U.S. Justice Alito recusal ‘mistake’ cost networks in fleeting expletive case

Listen to this article

Boston, MA – Justice Samuel Alito said he should have recused himself from considering a 2009 Supreme Court case involving federal penalties for televised profanity – a move that would have changed the outcome of the case.

When the Court took up the case FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Alito held about $2,000 worth of stock in Disney, the parent company of ABC, one of the parties in the case, the Associated Press reports. Usually justices who have a financial interest involving any party in a case before the Court will either recuse themselves from considering the case or eliminate the financial interest – usually by selling stock.

But Alito said he failed to do so in that case due to an oversight on the part of aides who routinely check for conflicts before cases are considered by the Court. Alito has since sold the stock, a fact reported on his latest financial disclosures released last week.

“It’s a mistake,” Alito told the AP in an interview.

The mistake had a direct effect on the outcome of the case, in which the Court reversed the 2nd Circuit and held in a 5-4 vote that the FCC’s policy to ban even an isolated use of an expletive on broadcast television was “entirely rational” under the law that governs federal administrative powers. Had Alito, who voted with the majority, not participated, a 4-4 tie would have resulted in the 2nd Circuit ruling in the networks’ favor being upheld.

Polls

Should Steven Avery be granted a new evidentiary hearing?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests