FCC indecency rulings get day in court

December 21, 2006 In a hearing characterized by frequent blue language, a three-judge panel from New York's 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals sharply questioned the FCC on Wednesday about its stringent new policy of fining networks for accidental indecent speech uttered during live broadcasts. Fox Broadcasting's lawyer, Carter Phillips, who also represented the positions of CBS and NBC at the hearing, said the new policy turns its back on "30 years of unbroken precedent." Pooler said it stands to reason that a child might not be able to differentiate between a judge saying a curse word in a courtroom -- alluding to the fact that Leval said "fuck" during the day's proceedings -- and Cher using an expletive on an awards show.

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