1st Circuit Denies FCC Request to Delay Consideration of Prison Calling Challenges
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Wednesday that a case examining the legality of the FCC’s prison-calling order will proceed. The FCC had asked the court to hold the case in abeyance in light of the Wireline Bureau’s decision to delay some incarcerated people’s communications service (IPCS) deadlines until April 1, 2027 (see 2507100061). Groups representing prisoners and their families want the case to be heard.
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“The request that the matters be held in abeyance is denied, without prejudice to reassertion of the request by any party in the event circumstances meaningfully change and without prejudice to reconsideration by the merits panel to whom these matters ultimately are assigned,” the court said. “The parties should inform the court immediately of any events or changes in circumstance capable of mooting these matters to any degree.”
Comments continue to flood the FCC protesting the delay, filed in dockets 23-62 and 12-375. The FCC has received nearly 1,600 comments as of Wednesday.