Court's pricing freeze stays put

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas last week denied all petitions to lift a court-ordered freeze on the Federal Communications Commission's interconnection pricing rules. The FCC immediately took its case to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, while AT&T, MCI and other long-distance carriers appealed to Justice John Paul Stevens.

Thomas' action upheld an Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that froze the pricing part of the interconnection rules the FCC released on Aug. 8 (Telephony, Oct. 21, page 6). Thomas offered no explanation in turning down the request from the FCC, AT&T, MCI and other long-distance carriers.

Each Supreme Court justice hears petitions from a specific part of the country, and the pricing arguments went to Thomas because the Eighth Circuit Court falls under his jurisdiction. Anyone whose argument is rejected may then appeal to any of the other justices. The second justice usually refers the case to the full court as a matter of tradition, said a U.S. Justice Department spokesman.

GTE, Southern New England Telecommunications, U S West and several state regulatory agencies filed the initial lawsuit that led to the stay because they want to overturn the FCC's ruling (Telephony, Sept. 2, page 6). The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals froze the particularly sensitive pricing rules until the entire case is heard, probably in January.

The FCC and the long-distance companies decried the injunction, saying competition won't wait that long. They then filed with the Supreme Court to overturn the freeze.

-News Editor Sandra Guy contributed to this report

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