U.S. High Court Refuses to Review Jackson Breast Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday refused to consider reimposing a government fine on the CBS television network over Janet Jackson's exposed breast "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had fined the popular network $550,000 over the incident during a halftime performance by Jackson at the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game.
The fine was subsequently overturned on appeal, with a federal court in Philadelphia saying the FCC had acted "arbitrarily" in penalizing CBS and that the indecency standard should not be applied to "fleeting images."
The Supreme Court refused to reconsider an FCC appeal, meaning the appellate ruling stands.
Jackson, the youngest sister of the late Michael Jackson, was performing live when fellow pop star Justin Timberlake tore off her bustier, exposing her breast for a fraction of a second to some 90 million viewers.
The incident caused a great stir in the United States.
Earlier in June, the Supreme Court invalidated fines levied by the FCC for the broadcasting of several curse words during live ceremonies and shots of bare buttocks on TV series.
The justices said in a unanimous decision that the FCC's policy against vulgarity on television was "vague" and threw out fines against TV networks Fox and ABC.
The court said that the FCC was "free to modify its current indecency policy" in light of the ruling.
Source: Agence France Presse
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