The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a 1991 law that bars robocalls to cellphones.
The case, argued by telephone in May because of the coronavirus pandemic, only arose after Congress in 2015 created an exception in the law that allowed the automated calls for collection of government debt.
Political consultants and pollsters were among those who asked the Supreme Court to strike down the entire 1991 law that bars them from making robocalls to cellphones as a violation of their free speech rights under the Constitution. The issue was whether, by allowing one kind of speech but not others, the exception made the whole law unconstitutional.
Six justices agreed that by allowing debt collection calls to cellphones Congress "impermissibly favored debt-collection speech over political and other speech, in violation of the First Amendment," Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote. And seven justices agreed that the 2015 exception should be stricken from the law.
"Americans passionately disagree about many things. But they are largely united in their disdain for robocalls," Kavanaugh noted at the outset of his opinion.
During arguments in the case in May, Justice Stephen Breyer got cut off when someone tried calling him. Breyer said after he rejoined the court's arguments: "The telephone started to ring, and it cut me off the call and I don't think it was a robocall."
Rep. George Santos has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging financial fraud at the heart of a political campaign built on dubious boasts about his personal wealth and business success.
The charges are under seal, said th
A jury has found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996.
Before President Joe Biden and congressional leaders can even try to avert an unprecedented U.S. government default, their initial challenge on Tuesday will be to agree on what exactly they’re talking about as they hold their first substantive meeting in months.
A number of noncitizens appear to have been missed in the 2020 census.
Cheddar News checks in on what to look for on The Day Ahead as President Joe Biden meets with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to look to resolve the debt ceiling debate. Earnings are also slated to be reported from companies including Airbnb, AMC Networks, Electronic Arts and Nintendo.
The White House and Congress could strike a deal to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for budget cuts.
California's reparations task force voted to approve recommendations for how the state should compensate Black residents for discriminatory policies.
As fears of a national debt default rise, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he isn't ruling out a short-term bill to raise the debt ceiling. At the same time, he said he doesn't think "the responsible thing is to kick the can down the road."
The Biden administration is starting work on new regulations it says will expand the rights of airline passengers.
