Constitutional Law

Federal Appeals Court Tosses CBS Indecency Fine

A three-judge panel of the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today set aside a federal fine of the CBS Corporation for airing a brief glimpse of Janet Jackson’s breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.

In setting aside the Federal Communications Commission’s $550,000 fine of CBS, the appeals court ruled that the agency had “arbitrarily and capriciously departed from its prior policy” of not punishing fleeting broadcasts of indecency, reported Reuters.

The appeals court’s 102-page ruling noted that the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show featured a performance by Jackson and a “surprise guest,” Justin Timberlake. “Timberlake was unveiled on stage near the conclusion of the Halftime Show,” wrote Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica. “He and Jackson performed his popular song ‘Rock Your Body’ as the show’s finale. Their performance, which the FCC contends involved sexually suggestive choreography, portrayed Timberlake seeking to dance with Jackson, and Jackson alternating between accepting and rejecting his advances. The performance ended with Timberlake singing, ‘gonna have you naked by the end of this song,’ and simultaneously tearing away part of Jackson’s bustier. As a result, Jackson’s bare right breast was exposed on camera for nine-sixteenths of one second.”

That fleeting moment, prompted complaints to CBS and the subsequent FCC fine. FCC bars television and radio broadcasts from airing indecent material between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on July 21, 2008 (boomark / email).