'Wardrobe Malfunction' Case Bound for Supreme Court

Agency encouraged by Fox obscenity case
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 21, 2008 2:22 PM CST
'Wardrobe Malfunction' Case Bound for Supreme Court
Entertainer Janet Jackson, left, covers her breast after her outfit came undone during the half time performance with Justin Timberlake at Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston.    (AP Photo/David Phillip, File)

The FCC is continuing to push the "wardrobe malfunction" case and has turned to the Supreme Court, Broadcasting & Cable reports. The agency is attempting to have its $550,000 fine reinstated against CBS for Janet Jackson’s disrobing during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. A federal appeals court threw out the fine in July.

The FCC apparently hopes to prevail if the high court rules against Fox in a pending case that centers on swearing during the Billboard Music Awards. In the CBS case, the agency argued that the lower court ignored its "legitimate and rational basis for what it was doing and was improperly intruding into the FCC's turf." It won’t press its appeal until after the court rules on the Fox case.
(More wardrobe malfunction stories.)

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