A case that calls the entire Telephone Consumer Protection Act into question has made the cut as one of 10 cases that the Supreme Court will hear arguments on via teleconference next month, the high court announced yesterday.
Originally scheduled for this month, Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants will have arguments heard on one of six days next month, pending the availability of the lawyers who will be arguing the cases. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on May 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, and 13.
For the first time ever, the nine Supreme Court justices will convene remotely. The Supreme Court said yesterday in a press release that it expects to make a live audio feed of the arguments available for anyone who wants to hear them. Details will be shared “as they become available,” it said in the release.
In yesterday’s Compliance Digest, which was distributed via email [EDITOR’S NOTE: Not receiving it? Email me to sign up], David Kaminski from the law firm of Carlson & Messer noted, “The high Court is likely pushing this case forward, among others, because the public has been clamoring for a hearing so that it can be determined, once and for all, whether the TCPA will stand, will fall, or may be eroded in whole or in part.”
Barr v. AAPC dealt with a provision in the TCPA that allows companies collecting debts on behalf of the federal government to contact individuals on their cell phones using an automated telephone dialing system without needing to obtain prior consent to do so.
Last year, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the exemption from complying with the TCPA was unconstitutional, a ruling that was backed
