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# All-GOP Judicial Panel Picked to Hear FCC Net Neutrality Case
- URL: https://broadbandbreakfast.com/all-gop-judicial-panel-picked-to-hear-fcc-net-neutrality-case/
- Published: 2024-10-15T16:14:16.000Z
- Updated: 2026-03-11T06:02:37.000Z
- Description: Oral arguments are scheduled for Oct. 31, 2024 in Cincinnati
- Author: Ted Hearn
- Tags: Donald Trump, Sixth Circuit, Net Neutrality, #with-siderail, Richard Allen Griffin, Raymond M. Kethledge, John K. Bush, Antonin Scalia, Neil Gorsuch, Joe Biden, Blair Levin, George W. Bush

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2024 – The judges named Tuesday to hear the challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's Net Neutrality rules were all appointed by Republican presidents.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit posted the names of the judges, who were randomly selected, on the court's website early Tuesday ahead of oral arguments on Oct. 31, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. ET in Cincinnati.

The judges named were **Richard Allen Griffin**, **Raymond M. Kethledge**, and **John K. Bush**. Griffin was appointed by President **George W. Bush** in 2005, **Kethledge** by Bush in 2008, and Bush by President **Donald J. Trump** in 2017.

Of the three judges, Kethledge, a former clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, is probably the best known. In the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump included Kethledge [on the list of judges](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/us/politics/donald-trump-supreme-court-nominees.html?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com) from which he would select the successor to late Justice **Antonin Scalia**. Trump picked **Neil Gorsuch** in the end.

The FCC's rules, adopted in April, have not taken effect. A different Sixth Circuit panel blocked them on Aug. 1\. That panel included two judges appointed by Democrats (including one by President **Joe Biden**) and one by a Republican.

In [a speech Thursday](https://www.benton.org/blog/impact-election-broadband-sector?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com), New Street Research analyst **Blair Levin** said it was "highly likely" the FCC would lose the Net Neutrality case and thus its authority to impose various conduct-based restrictions on broadband ISPs.

Statistically, it seemed unlikely the Net Neutrality panel would be composed exclusively of GOP appointees.

The Sixth Circuit has 30 judges – 20 Republicans and 10 Democrats. However, six Republicans and one Democrat have taken senior status, leaving the court with 23 active judges, including 14 Republicans and nine Democrats.