Verizon to Supreme Court: FCC Forfeiture Process Invalid

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14, 2025 – Verizon is asking the Supreme Court to resolve a split between circuit courts of appeal and find that the Federal Communications Commission’s process for issuing fines is unconstitutional.

The carrier argued in a petition posted Wednesday that under SEC v. Jarkesy, it should be entitled to a jury trial before having to pay any civil penalties to the FCC. The agency’s process does allow fined entities a jury trial, provided they refuse to pay and wait for the Justice Department to bring a collection action.

“This penalty-now-trial-later system imposes far too heavy burdens on the exercise of a carrier’s Seventh Amendment rights,” the company wrote, seeking to appeal a decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeal. “To maintain even the chance at an eventual jury, a carrier must forgo its right to appeal and incur the practical, financial, and reputational costs of flouting a final agency order requiring prompt payment of a potentially massive penalty.”