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."
Andrene Ward-Hammond, who plays Big Mo on Showtime's "Your Honor" talks to Cheddar about how the limited series reflects the ongoing issues of inequity in the U.S. criminal justice system.
After seeing two academic years thrown off course by the pandemic, school leaders around the country are planning for the possibility of more distance learning next fall at the start of yet another school year.
In the 1920s, an army of real estate boosters set out to redefine Florida from an economic backwater to a ritzy vacation destination, sparking a land boom — and bust — the likes of which America had never seen before.
President Joe Biden is meeting with the House Democratic committee chairs who aim to put his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on a fast track to becoming law.
Nate Boutte, pharmacy manager for Walgreens, talked about the readiness of the pharmacy chain in getting COVID vaccines out in the White House's new distribution plan.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
The IRS is offering eligible taxpayers who did not receive their full federal stimulus checks a chance to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2020 tax return.
Rep. Al Green (D-Texas 9th District), spoke with Cheddar about the possibility of raising the federal minimum wage as part of the current COVID relief package.
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich. 14th. District) said that Trump must be held accountable for his possible role in egging on supporters to invade the Capitol Building on January 6.
Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif. 53rd District) spoke to Cheddar about how those accused of provoking the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill, such as Rep. Greene and former President Trump, need to be held accountable.
