FCC Seeks OK for 2 Attorneys to Address Dish, Dark-Sky Challenges in Oral Argument
The FCC seeks leave to allow two attorneys to argue on its behalf during Dec. 11 oral argument on the consolidated challenges brought by Dish Network and the International Dark-Sky Association against the FCC’s order authorizing SpaceX to deploy and…
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operate a constellation of 7,500 second-generation Starlink communications satellites, said a commission motion Friday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The consolidated cases “raise unrelated legal and factual issues arising out of an FCC licensing proceeding,” said the motion. Dividing argument as requested will aid in the D.C. Circuit’s “understanding of the complex issues presented,” it said. Dish challenges the FCC’s determination that SpaceX’s Gen2 Starlink system won't cause harmful interference to geostationary satellite operations such as Dish’s direct broadcast satellite system (docket 23-1001), it said. IDSA argues that the FCC erred in concluding that the National Environmental Policy Act didn’t require additional environmental review of the SpaceX satellites (docket 22-1337), it said. Under the D.C. Circuit’s Nov. 29 order assigning the FCC 16 minutes of argument time to be divided with intervenor SpaceX as the parties see fit (see 2311300004), the FCC has agreed to “cede” four minutes to SpaceX, said the motion. Should the D.C. Circuit grant the motion dividing the remaining 12 minutes between attorneys Rachel Proctor May and James Carr, May will address all issues raised by IDSA, and Carr will address those raised by Dish, it said. The FCC believes that permitting argument to be divided in that manner will “materially aid” in the D.C. Circuit’s “understanding of the distinct interference and environmental challenges to the FCC’s order in this case,” it said. Counsel for Dish and SpaceX consent to the motion, but IDSA’s position is unknown, it said.