DC Circuit Panel Vacates Inmate Calling Service Intrastate Rate Caps, Other Provisions
Federal judges struck down FCC intrastate rate caps on inmate calling services and several other provisions of a 2015 ICS order. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Tuesday also vacated the commission's use of industry-averaged cost data and the imposition of video visitation reporting requirements in Global Tel*Link v. FCC, No. 15-1461. It said FCC exclusion of site commission payments from its cost calculus couldn't stand as currently constituted, and vacated and remanded that decision for further proceedings, but it denied challenges to site commission reporting requirements.
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The panel remanded a challenge to the imposition of ancillary fee caps to allow the agency to determine whether it can segregate caps on interstate calls, which it said were permissible, and caps on intrastate calls, which it said were impermissible. It dismissed pre-emption and due process claims as moot. At Feb. 6 oral argument, judges were skeptical of some of the rules (see here).
The court's controlling opinion was written by Judge Harry Edwards and backed by Laurence Silberman, who wrote a concurring opinion. Cornelia Pillard largely dissented.
FCC spokespeople had no immediate comment.