Decided
Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T, Inc.
Consolidated with Verizon Communications Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission (25-567)
Holding
Because forfeiture orders issued under 47 U.S.C. §503(b)(4) do not definitively resolve the parties’ legal obligations, and the FCC’s factual findings in its forfeiture proceedings are not conclusive, it does not violate the Seventh Amendment for the FCC to issue forfeiture orders without the involvement of a jury.
Judgment
Reversed and remanded, 8-1, in an opinion by John Roberts on Jun 4, 2026. Justice Thomas wrote a dissenting opinion.
Vote
8
1
RobertsAlitoSotomayorKaganGorsuchKavanaughBarrettJackson
Thomas
Related Coverage
Oct 2, 2025Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 5, 2025)Oct 24, 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 5, 2025 to December 5, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
Oct 27, 2025Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 5, 2025.
Dec 5, 2025Response to petition from respondent AT&T, Inc. filed.Dec 9, 2025Waiver of the 14-day waiting period for the distribution of the petition pursuant to Rule 15.5 filed by petitioners.Dec 10, 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/9/2026.
Jan 9, 2026Petition GRANTED. The petition for a writ of certiorari in No. 25-567 is granted. The cases are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. VIDED.
Jan 9, 2026Because the Court has consolidated these cases for briefing and oral argument, future filings and activity in the cases will now be reflected on the docket of No. 25-406. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 25-406. Each document submitted in connection with one or more of these cases must include on its cover the case number and caption for each case in which the filing is intended to be submitted. Where a filing is submitted in fewer than all of the cases, the docket entry will reflect the case number(s) in which the filing is submitted; a document filed in all of the consolidated cases will be noted as “VIDED.”
Jan 14, 2026Letter of the Solicitor General on behalf of all parties proposing consolidated briefing structure filed. VIDED.Jan 15, 2026The parties' proposal for the filing of consolidated briefs is adopted. Respondent in No. 25-406 and petitioner in No. 25-567 shall file a consolidated opening brief on the merits pursuant to Rule 25.1 and a consolidated reply brief on the merits pursuant to Rule 25.3. Petitioners in No. 25-406 and respondents in No. 25-567 shall file a consolidated response brief on the merits pursuant to Rule 25.2. VIDED.
Feb 2, 2026Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by AT&T and Verizon Communications Inc. VIDED.Feb 11, 2026SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. VIDED.
Feb 16, 2026Brief amicus curiae of Professor Ilan Wurman in support of neither party filed. VIDED.Feb 18, 2026Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Feb 18, 2026Opening brief on the merits of AT&T, Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. filed. VIDED.Feb 23, 2026Brief amici curiae of The Manhattan Institute, et al. filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amicus curiae of The Buckeye Institute filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amicus curiae of T-Mobile USA, Inc. filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amicus curiae of Telnyx LLC filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amici curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amicus curiae of Institute for Justice filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amicus curiae of Liberty Justice Center filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amici curiae of CTIA - The Wireless Association, et al. filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amicus curiae of TechFreedom filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amicus curiae of Washington Legal Foundation filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amici curiae of New Civil Liberties Alliance, et al. filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amicus curiae of Vaping Industry Stakeholders filed. VIDED.Feb 25, 2026Brief amicus curiae of National Religious Broadcasters filed. VIDED.Mar 2, 2026Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix GRANTED. VIDED.
Mar 17, 2026Record received electronically from the Federal Communications Commission and available with the Clerk.
Mar 19, 2026Sealed material received electronically from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and available with the Clerk. The remainder of the record is electronic and is available on PACER.
Mar 20, 2026Response brief on the merits of the federal parties filed. VIDED.Mar 27, 2026Brief amici curiae of Former FCC Chairs, et al. filed. VIDED. (Distributed)Mar 27, 2026Brief amicus curiae of Citizens Utility Board of Illinois filed. VIDED. (Distributed)Mar 27, 2026Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed. (Distributed)Mar 30, 2026CIRCULATED
Apr 9, 2026Reply of Verizon Communications Inc. not accepted for filing. (To be resubmitted April 13, 2026)
Apr 9, 2026Reply of AT&T, Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. filed (April 13, 2026). (Distributed)Apr 16, 2026Letter from counsel for AT&T, Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. filed. VIDED. (Distributed)Apr 21, 2026Argued. For AT&T, Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.: Jeffrey B. Wall, Washington, D. C. For FCC, et al.: Vivek Suri, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. VIDED.
Jun 4, 2026Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. No. 25-567, adjudged to be affirmed. Roberts, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett, and Jackson, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., filed a dissenting opinion. VIDED.
Jun 29, 2026Petition of Verizon Communications Inc. for rehearing submitted.Jul 6, 2026Judgment Issued.Recommended Citation: Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T, Inc., SCOTUSblog, https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/federal-communications-commission-v-att-inc-2/