FCC v. AT&T, Inc.

The Liberty Justice Center has stepped into a major Supreme Court battle to stop federal agencies from acting as prosecutor, judge, and jury. In the consolidated cases FCC v. AT&T and Verizon v. FCC, the Court is deciding whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can bypass the Constitution to fine companies millions of dollars without ever stepping foot in a courtroom. The Liberty Justice Center filed an amicus brief on February 25, 2026 urging the Court to protect the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial for all Americans.

At the heart of this case is a fundamental question: Can the government take your property through “in-house” trials? Currently, the FCC investigates alleged data privacy violations, decides the “guilt” of the company, and issues massive fines—all through its own internal paperwork. This process skips the traditional protections of our legal system, where an independent judge and a jury of citizens decide the facts. We argue that because these fines are meant to punish, they are “legal” in nature and, under the Constitution, must be decided by a jury.

The government claims it “protects” the right to a jury by allowing companies to be sued later—but there’s a catch. The FCC argues that if a company refuses to pay the internal fine, the government might eventually sue them in a real court where a jury is available, but in the meantime, the company is publicly branded as a lawbreaker and faces serious reputational damage. At the Liberty Justice Center we believe the right to a jury trial is too sacred to be treated as a “maybe” that only happens after the government has already declared you guilty and damaged your business.

This isn’t just about big telecommunications companies; it’s about the power of the “Administrative State.” If the FCC is allowed to ignore the Seventh Amendment, other federal agencies will continue to use the same shortcut to bypass our constitutional rights. By combining the roles of investigator, prosecutor, and judge under one roof, agencies create a system where the deck is stacked against the citizen. The Liberty Justice Center is asking the Supreme Court to restore the balance of power and ensure that the government always respects the Bill of Rights.

“The right to a jury trial is the oldest right in our legal tradition—and should not be tossed out for the convenience of administrative agencies,” said Reilly Stephens, Director of Amicus Practice at the Liberty Justice Center. “As the noblemen at Runnymede understood, juries provide a vital check on the powers of the sovereign. We hope the Supreme Court recognizes as much, and puts an end to these abuses.”

The Liberty Justice Center’s amicus brief in FCC v. AT&T, Inc. can be found here.