Court Weighs Janet Jackson Breast Case

Justices Toss Appeals Court Ruling Against FCC; Fine Against CBS May Be Reinstated

(AP)  The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a federal appeals court to re-examine its ruling in favor of CBS Corp. in a legal fight over entertainer Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction.

The high court on Monday directed the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to consider reinstating the $550,000 fine that the Federal Communications Commission imposed on CBS over Jackson's breast-baring performance at the 2004 Super Bowl.

The order follows the high court ruling last week that narrowly upheld the FCC's policy threatening fines against even one-time uses of curse words on live television.

Last year, the appeals court threw out the fine against CBS, saying the FCC strayed from its long-held approach of applying identical standards to words and images when reviewing complaints of indecency.

The appellate court said the incident lasted nine-sixteenths of one second and should have been regarded as "fleeting." The FCC previously deviated from its nearly 30-year practice of fining indecent broadcast programming only when it was so "pervasive as to amount to 'shock treatment' for the audience," the court said.

The FCC appealed to the Supreme Court. The case had been put off while the justices dealt with a challenge led by Fox Television against the FCC's policy on fleeting expletives.

The case is FCC v. CBS Corp., 08-653.

[paddyhayes]

51% of adult humans have them.

What's the deal?

You know what boobs and toy trains have in common?

They're meant for kids, but it's the dad that ends up playing with them.

[weedapoopl]

GOD made us, right? he also made us 'Naked', right It wasn't until man broke his law and 'learned' things that man became aware of his 'Nakedness'.
Posted by ToolMangler1 at 1:23 PM : May 4, 2009

And then God told us not to show our nakedness to others.

So your point it.....?

[hungryman9]

Fine Jackson and CBS heavy and maybe some of these thing will go away. They had no right doing this in front of my children knowing we knew nothing about it. If we knew they were going to do it we could have cut the TV off and not let our girls see it. CBS is as guilty as Jackson.

[ToolMangler1]

Posted by omnibus66 at 12:01 PM : May 4, 2009

Thank you for spouting your filthy opinion, vermin.

Now crawl back under your rock with all the other creepy crawly things and go away.
Posted by MnST4AleNz at 12:11 PM : May 4, 2009




OK!!! "YOU" opened the door now suffer!!!!
Show this Christian just what "omnibus66" said that was "so filthy"!!!! GOD made us, right? he also made us 'Naked', right It wasn't until man broke his law and 'learned' things that man became aware of his 'Nakedness'. You are pathetic and need your soul washed out with 'lye soap'. It is very obvious that 'you' know nothing about GOD but what other men (priests) tell you. One other thing, I know that 'you' will not understand a thing I have told you because 'you' will not shut your mouth long enough for GOD to get a word in 'edgewise'. You already "Know it all"

[pepperwood2]

Court Weighs Janet Jackson Breast Case.......

Just how do the Courts plan to go about weighing JJ's pimples and then trying to make a case out of them. Only CBS could come up with trying to make something out of nothing. So Sad!

[MnST4AleNz]

Posted by omnibus66 at 12:01 PM : May 4, 2009

Thank you for spouting your filthy opinion, vermin.

Now crawl back under your rock with all the other creepy crawly things and go away.

[omnibus66]

For approximately 1/2 of a second, something "forbidden" was shown on network TV. HORRORS! Why is it forbidden? Because a bunch of self-righteous Bible thumpers say so. It's OK to trash The Constitution, commit heinous acts of torture, and turn your backs on the less fortunate, but under no circumstance are we allowed to display the wicked human body. It is something to be ashamed of, never spoken of, and always hidden.

I have seen replays of the incident, and unless you slow it down, you can make out nothing definitive, it happens too quickly. If your kids were watching the live broadcast, they saw nothing. All of you faux Christian hypocrites should go back to the dark ages where you will be much more comfortable.

[MnST4AleNz]

there is a time and a place for everything. .... I do not expect my children to be exposed to nudity while watching the Superbowl. There is a reasonable expectation of decency during that show.
Posted by YCantWeAllGetAlong at 11:23 AM : May 4, 2009

That's exactly how I feel about it.

[Truth4SD]

Punish CBS for not being more careful. Fine them $5M

[YCantWeAllGetAlong]

There is nothing wrong with a bare breast. The human body is what it is. However, there is a time and a place for everything. Just as you are not allowed to make love in public, there are certain things that demand privacy. What Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake did was purposeful. That is very obvious. They should pay the fine and CBS should learn a lesson about delays of live broadcasts. We do not allow our children to watch shows that contain profanity or nudity. However, we do not protect them from learning about both and their place in society.

Janet and Justin should not have the power to make that decision for me. I do not expect my children to be exposed to nudity while watching the Superbowl. There is a reasonable expectation of decency during that show.

[Henri_Rochard]

Jackson knew the 'incident' would occur.

For what other reason would she have been wearing a pastie ??

[ajjaxtheleast]

And what about CBS engendering the more than fleeting image of
our beloved Supreme Court Justices in our reading,,,,

,,,"Court Weighs Janet Jackson Breast" before we come to "Case"

There goes another $500,000 out the window.

[MnST4AleNz]

Men have them to, That is what they were designed for.
Posted by jenkins501 at 9:53 AM : May 4, 2009

Men have behinds, too, and in most cases I would prefer not to see them wiggling their tushies at me on TV.

There are a lot of body parts that are designed for a lot of things. But that doesn't mean I want to see it doing that on TV. Think about that next time you're using the toilet, and ask youself if I would really want to see you doing that.

[MnST4AleNz]

A woman should not be expsoing herself on live television, not matter how fleeting.

And what is wrong with the FCC for allowing live broadcasts with no delay to bleep out thngs like that?

They need to get their own house in order if they expect to be taken seriously about a woman putting on a jiggle show to prop up her desperate entertainment career.

[Oregon_State_OSU]

OMG it was just a Breast.

Its Pathetic that they are still HASHING over this Krap. Curse words should be allowed after 10pm, Most all kids know all the cuss words by the time they are 7 or 8 years old.

WHO CARES !

[drputt45]

I don't know, I thing this is something we really ought to be looking in to. I think a super slow-mo might show us most of what we want to see to make an intelligent (sober?) decision.

If I am on the Supreme Court, this is just the case I would need to raise my interest. I would demand a personal appearance by the offender and a display of the evidence. Without that, we might think this is another cover up.

[jenkins501]

My God it was just a breast. Men have them to, some of theirs are just as large or small and they can go shirtless, what can't women? This country makes to much of this, even the stupid breastfeeding issues. How backward are we. That is what they were designed for. Men turned them into sexual items and women stupidly play right into it.

[sly_64]

Ever see the PTV episode of Family Guy, it explains a lot.

[afrazier1]

Stop and think about this....where does it all lead? I'm thinkin' Itailian Television!

[johndevinejr]

Red Foxx are turning over in their graves so that the rednecks can kiss their @ss! DUMB AS DIRT neoCONS need to be voted out in 2010.
Posted by txlakeside at 8:18 AM : May 4, 2009


I think that about sums it up. I have nothing to add.

Good post.