Remember those fractions during the 2004 Super Bowl of a second when the nation was dripped by a flash of Janet Jackson’s nipple? On Wednesday the Third Circuit Federal Court of Appeals threw out the fine the Federal Communications Commission ordered CBS to pay.
The court ruled the FCC imposed the original fine of $550,000 “arbitrarily and capriciously.”
A similar ruling was issued in 2008, but the case was sent back to the court based on a ruling change from the Supreme Court.
Jackson’s famed “wardrobe malfunction” occurred at the end of the halftime performance when Justin Timberlake seemingly ripped off her bustier. The flash shocked and awed an audience of 90 million for a fraction of a second.
The Parent’s Television Council today said the court ruling “reaches the level of judicial stupidity and is a sucker-punch to families everywhere.”