Supreme Court hears FCC v. AT&T on agency fines without juries

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in FCC v. AT&T and Verizon v. FCC, consolidated cases asking whether the Seventh Amendment requires a jury trial before the FCC can impose civil fines of $57 million on AT&T and $46.9 million on Verizon for violating customer data privacy rules. The Fifth Circuit had struck down the AT&T fine as unconstitutional because the FCC acted as prosecutor, judge, and jury; the Second Circuit had upheld the Verizon fine. Both companies argued the case was controlled by SEC v. Jarkesy (2024); a decision is expected by late June or early July 2026.