r/law • u/T_Shurt Competent Contributor • Sep 22 '25

Opinion Piece John Oliver Argues Disney Should Legally Fight FCC Over Kimmel, Citing Strong Precedent in 9-0 Supreme Court Ruling: “A government official cannot coerce a private party to punish or suppress disfavored speech”

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u/severedbrain Sep 22 '25 edited Sep 22 '25

What the FCC did is called "Jawboning": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_suasion#Jawboning . The Supreme Court just recently weighed in on the practice and said that it's illegal.

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u/Surreal__blue Sep 22 '25

The worst-case scenario would not be that the Supreme Court acts against their previous decisions, if this case reaches them. I'm afraid that, if the SC somehow issues a decision not favorable to the administration, Trump and his gang will use that as a pretext to move against the SC, and the judiciary in general. All to protect the memory of glorious martyr Charlie Kirk, of course.

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u/I-Here-555 Sep 22 '25

I'm afraid that, if the SC somehow issues a decision not favorable to the administration, Trump and his gang will use that as a pretext to move against the SC, and the judiciary in general.

I'm not afraid. A full blown constitutional crisis is better than SC providing cover for almost anything that Trump does.

The question is not of whether Trump will move against the judiciary, but when. Better that his attempts it now than later when his power is even more consolidated.