The FCC has issued a Notice of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting to a rural ranch in Washington state, even as a high-stakes constitutional challenge out of South Florida is testing the FCC’s authority to punish unlicensed radio broadcasters.
3 Brothers Ranch LLC, the owners of a property in Quinault, WA, are currently on the hook for unauthorized transmissions coming from a property located on S. Shore Road near Lake Quinault. The signal was first identified on May 7 by FCC Enforcement Bureau agents based out of Portland. Under the PIRATE Act, the FCC can hold property owners responsible for unlicensed operations, even if they are not the broadcaster.
The Commission is continuing its enforcement initiatives, while a Miami-area man has filed a petition for reconsideration against the agency’s $2.39 million forfeiture order for his pirate broadcast. Citing a recent Supreme Court ruling that limits the power of federal agencies to impose civil fines without judicial review, Fabrice Polynice argues the FCC’s longstanding forfeiture process is unconstitutional.
At the heart of his challenge is the SEC v. Jarkesy decision, which held that administrative agencies cannot levy punitive fines in “suits at common law” without the option of a jury trial. Polynice claims that the FCC’s administrative process—which allows only a written reply and no hearing—fails to meet those constitutional standards. A white paper submitted with the petition by former FCC Deputy General Counsel Peter Karanjia supports that interpretation, warning that most FCC forfeiture actions may no longer hold up in court without reform.
The Commission has not yet responded to Polynice’s petition, and it is unlikely to grant reconsideration.
