IP: RE: AT&T's First Amendment Problem, And Ours

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> From: "Meeks, Brock (MSNBCi)" <Brock.Meeks () MSNBC COM>
> To: "'farber () cis upenn edu'" <farber () cis upenn edu>
> Subject: RE: AT&T's First Amendment Problem, And Ours
> Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 06:35:48 -0700
> X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19)
>
> That's all very true and all very unoriginal.  AT&T "stole" the First
> Amendment argument from the Baby Bells.
>
> The Bells, very effectively, used the First Amendment as the hammer to get
> the courts to allow them into so-called "video dialtone," a scheme which has
> been a spectacular flop.
>
> Nonetheless, the cases set precedent.  Bell Atlantic was the first to
> successfully proffer the argument in court, and with the help of none other
> than heavyweight Lawrence Tribe, if  I'm not mistaken.
>
> Tribe argued that by PROHIBITING the Bells from building video capable
> networks, the government was denying them their first amendment rights.
>
> Bell Atlantic won the case and all the other Bells, cribbing directly from
> the BA briefs, filed suit across the country and eventually all won their
> cases.



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