Supreme Court upholds law banning cellphone robocalls

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: USA TODAY

Supreme Court upholds law banning cellphone robocalls
Richard Wolf
USA TODAY
Published 10:11 a.m. ET Jul. 6, 2020 Updated 10:47 a.m. ET Jul. 6, 2020

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a nearly 30-year-old ban on automated calls to cellphones despite concerns that it violates the First Amendment.

To fix that constitutional problem, the justices ruled that a recent exception to the law allowing robocalls to people who owe the government money must be eliminated. The decision was written by Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, with many justices agreeing only in part.

The ruling brought to a close an unusual case in which neither side sought what the court deemed the most acceptable result. Political consultants and pollsters wanted the original law declared unconstitutional, while the government wanted both the ban and the government-debt exception upheld.

Instead, as Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch quipped during oral argument in May, the result was "the irony of a First Amendment challenge leading to the suppression of more speech as a remedy." He was the only justice to dissent from the entire judgment.

{snip}

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/07/06/supreme-court-wont-allow-political-robocalls-cellphones/3209646001/

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Barr v. American Assn. of Political Consultants, Inc.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/19-631_2d93.pdf

[MLAA]

1. Yeah!!

[groundloop]

2. To Neil Gorsuch I'd argue that this decision bans harassment.

Neil Gorsuch was the lone dissenter on this decision, arguing that it restricts free speech. I call bullshit on that, robocalls (to a phone that I PAY FOR) is NOT free speech, it's harassment.

[moreland01]

3. So when

can we expect them to stop?

[whistler162]

5. No!

[flibbitygiblets]

6. Mine stopped already! JK it never ends. Seems toothless without enforcement

and I'm not sure how that would even work, assuming we had an administration that cared about it's people.

[csziggy]

9. When robocalls are illegal only crooks will make robocalls!

Seriously pretty much all robocalls received now are illegally made and are probably scams.

I just got a robocall from "Apple" claiming that "suspicious activity" was taking place on my iCloud account. Interesting since I have not owned an Apple product since 1986 and have never had an iCloud account. Instantly I knew it was a scam call, of course.

They will continue since too many people fall for this crap and as long as they make money on one out of millions of calls, it pays off for them. From now on, tell everyone you know that if it a robocall, it is not legitimate.

[jayfish]

4. This And The Electoral College Decison Look Like Sugar...

before the medicine goes down. Just like the abortion decision.

[Polybius]

7. So why have I been getting spam calls for years?

Trying to sell me crap I don't need or hoaxes to get me to give out my bank account info.

[MiniMe]

8. I don't answer any phone calls unless I recognize the number.

[TygrBright]

11. May be the single most popular SC opinion EVER. n/t

[gagarux]

12. Kavanaugh May Rue This Opinion

“Constitutional litigation is not a game of gotcha against Congress, where litigants can ride a discrete constitutional flaw in a statute to take down the whole, otherwise constitutional statute,” Kavanaugh wrote for himself.

It will be interesting to see how Kavanaugh feels when he has to rule on whether to invalidate Obamacare due to the Individual Mandate.

[oldsoftie]

13. So was it 7-2? 6-3? I've read a couple articles & cant figure it out.

They mention different justices agreeing with different parts, but i dont see an actual count. Not that it matters, because its a great decision for ALL of us

[DeminPennswoods]

14. Yay!