Legal News

Lunchtime Roundup: CBS Not in Clear on Jackson Flap, More

By Ashby Jones

So we’ve gotten the very helpful word from some LB readers that you like the quick-hit news roundups that we’ve done in the last few days. Thanks. So for the time being, we’ll continue to do them, though we might tinker with the timing of them until we figure out what seems to work the best.

Today’s roundup, at least for our eastern seaboard readers, falls closer to lunchtime. (Question: Why isn’t the West coast ever referred to as the “western seaboard”?)

Dammit, Janet: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Third Circuit to re-examine its ruling in favor of CBS Corp. over Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction.” The Court ordered the appellate court to consider reinstating the $550,000 fine that the FCC imposed on CBS over Jackson’s breast-baring performance at the 2004 Super Bowl. Click here for the AP story; here for Scotusblog’s roundup of this morning’s activity.

In a statement, CBS stated: “We are confident that in reviewing the case the Third Circuit will again recognize that the Super Bowl incident, while inappropriate and regrettable, was not and could not have been anticipated by CBS. This remains an important issue for the entire broadcasting industry because it recognizes that there are rare instances, particularly during live programming, when despite best efforts it may not be possible to block unfortunate fleeting material.”

‘Mozart’ on the Meltdown: One of our better professors in law school talked often and eagerly about the brilliance of Seventh Circuit Judge and Chicago professor Richard Posner, and seemed mightily chagrined at the realization that he would never measure up. “He is Mozart,” said the professor, “and the rest of us are Salieris.” Well, Mozart Posner weighs in today on the editorial pages of the WSJ with his own take on how the global economic meltdown — and who’s to blame for it. Posner frames it this way: the private sector is responsible, but government gets the blame, largely for creating the conditions that allowed capitalism to run off the rails. Says Posner to columnist and former WSJ publisher Gordon Crovitz: “The responsibility for building the fences that prevent an economic collapse as a result of risky lending devolves on the government.”

Tzolov Likely to Plead: Julian Tzolov, a former Credit Suisse Group broker accused last year of deceiving investors about investments known as auction-rate securities, is expected to plead guilty to fraud charges, his lawyer said in a court hearing last month. If he pleads, it would mark the first criminal conviction stemming from the auction-rate securities mess, in which hundreds of thousands of investors were left holding billions of dollars worth of securities they couldn’t easily sell. Click here for the story, from the WSJ’s Amir Efrati.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on May 04, 2009 (boomark / email).