Attorneys Impressed by 10th Circuit Judges' Grasp of CAF Order

摘要

DENVER — The three-judge panel that heard an FCC USF case left attorneys impressed with itsrnpreparation for the oral argument, the attorneys said in interviews afterward. The 10th U.S. Circuit Courtrnof Appeals Tuesday heard a challenge of the FCC 2011 Connect America Fund order, which revamped thernrules of the $4.5 billion-a-year fund and set intercarrier compensation on a path toward bill-and-keep (CDrnNov 20 p2). “They were engaged,” said Stinson Morrison attorney Harvey Reiter, who argued that thernrevamp of the USF and intercarrier compensation rules unlawfully hurt his rural CLEC clients. “They followedrneverything. I was amazed that they could jump from one issue to another. I think the court wasrnpretty active." But another attorney predicted a possible Supreme Court challenge if the 10th Circuit followsrnan irrelevant “tangent” in upholding the intercarrier compensation rules.