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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