The Supreme Court upholds Federal ban on robocalls to cell phones

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/06/politics/robocalls-supreme-court-ruling/index.html

The Supreme Court upheld a federal ban on robocalls to cell phones on Monday, rejecting a bid by political consultants to open the floodgates for campaign ads and other communications.

In a decision that divided the court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh writes that an exception to the ban created by Congress is unconstitutional under the First Amendment -- and that the overall ban should remain in place.

"Americans passionately disagree about many things. But they are largely united in their disdain for robocalls," Kavanaugh writes. "The Federal Government receives a staggering number of complaints about robocalls ... The States likewise field a constant barrage of complaints."

Robocalls to cell phones were banned by Congress under the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which limits the use of automatic dialing systems and pre-recorded voice messages in order to protect Americans from intrusion. The law imposes liability of up to $1,500 for any call or text message made or sent without prior express consent. An exception was added to the law in 2015 that exempts government debt collection services from that law.

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The case was closely watched in political circles due to the potential impact on political advertising.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/19-631_2d93.pdf

In the decision, the majority was Kavanuagh (wrote the majority opinion), Roberts, Thomas, Alito and Sotomayor (who wrote a concurring opinion)

The dissenters were Breyer (wrote the Minority Opinion), Ginsburg and Kagan. Gorsuch wrote an opinion that both concurred and dissented, and was joined by Thomas for half his opinion.

[brucejoel99]

Americans passionately disagree about many things. But they are largely united in their disdain for robocalls."

When he's right, he's right. One of the best opening lines IMO.

In the decision, the majority was Kavanuagh (wrote the majority opinion), Roberts, Thomas, Alito and Sotomayor (who wrote a concurring opinion)

The dissenters were Breyer (wrote the Minority Opinion), Ginsburg and Kagan. Gorsuch wrote an opinion that both concurred and dissented, and was joined by Thomas for half his opinion.

Looking at the decision, the voting rationales in this case were more than a bit weird:

• 6 Justices - Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Gorsuch, & Kavanaugh - agreed that the law was an unconstitutional content-based restriction, although not necessarily for the same reasons.
• 3 Justices - Ginsburg, Breyer, & Kagan - disagreed with the primary holding & would've found the government debt exception constitutional.
• 7 Justices - all but Thomas & Gorsuch - agreed, accepting the judgment that the exception is unconstitutional, that the proper remedy was to sever the government debt exception & leave the remainder of the anti-robocall law intact.
• Thomas & Gorsuch wouldn't have stricken the exception down, but merely would've held the law to be unconstitutional as applied & would've instead granted the petitioners injunctive relief (presumably permitting petitioner to make robocalls to cell phones for political purposes without prosecution under the law).