Wireless Industry Petitions the Supreme Court To Hear Case To Halt The Cell Phone Right To Know Ordinance of Berkeley California, USA
CTIA Petitioned US Supreme Court on January 9, 2018
On January 9, 2018 the CTIA The Wireless Association filed a petition the United States Supreme Court to hear the CTIA case against the City of Berkeley’s cell phone “right to know” ordinance.
The Berkeley “Cell Phone Right To Know Ordinance requires cellphone retailers to provide consumers with this notification:
“To assure safety, the Federal Government requires that cell phones meet radiofrequency (RF) exposure guidelines. If you carry or use your phone in a pants or shirt pocket or tucked into a bra when the phone is ON and connected to a wireless network, you may exceed the federal guidelines for exposure to RF radiation. Refer to the instructions in your phone or user manual for information about how to use your phone safely.”
Dr. Joel Moskowitz of the University of California at Berkeley has been monitoring the court case and frames the arguments as, “The CTIA argues that the ordinance forces cell-phone retailers to deliver a misleading and controversial message to customers. The city asserts that the message is “literally true”; moreover, the city has a legitimate interest in protecting the health of its residents.”
The CTIA is represented by Theodore Olson of the law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP. The City of Berkeley is represented pro bono by Harvard constitutional law professor Lawrence Lessig, Amanda Shanor, a Ph.D. candidate at Yale Law School, and Farimah Brown and Savith Iyengar of the Berkeley city attorney’s office.
Berkeley Cell Phone Right To Know Oral Arguments 9/2016: Theodore Olson and Lawrence Lessig
BACKGROUND
The Berkeley Cell Phone Ordinance was adopted in May, 2015 and has been in effect since March, 2016. The CTIA immediately challenged the Berkeley Ordinance in a series of court challenges.
In October California Court 2017 ruling, the CTIA was denied an en banc hearing. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reconsider its April decision to uphold the Berkeley ordinance.
RESOURCES TO LEARN MORE
EHT’s website with videos and documents on the Berkeley Ordinance
Dr. Joel Moskowitz has a detailed blog on the Berkeley Court case at http://www.saferemr.com/2014/11/berkeley-cell-phone-right-to-know.html.
The case, “CTIA – The Wireless Association, Petitioner v. City of Berkeley, California, et al.,” was filed on the Supreme Court docket on January 9, 2018 as No. 17-976. The CTIA’s petition and appendix can be downloaded from the Supreme Court’s website.
Watch videos of testimony to the Berkeley City Council on EHT’s Youtube channel here.
Read the Briefing on the Ordinance Berkeley by Lawrence Lessig, with support from the California Brain Tumor Association and Voices Against Brain Cancer.
Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig has a blog post about the case.
The 10/11/2017 Court ruling can be downloaded at this link.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) submitted a brief to support the City of Berkeley. NRDC Amicus Brief on Berkeley Ordinance
NEWS REPORTS IN OCTOBER 2017
Ninth Circuit Denies Review in Berkeley Cell Phone Warning Case, Ben Hancock, The Recorder, October 11, 2017
Appeals Court Rebuffs ANA And Wireless Carriers Over Cell Phone Radiation Warnings, Wendy Davis, Media Post,
LEARN MORE
Watch videos of testimony to the Berkeley City Council on EHT’s Youtube channel here.
Read the Briefing prepared for the City by Lawrence Lessig, with support from the California Brain Tumor Association and Voices Against Brain Cancer.
Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig has a blog about the case.
The Berkeley Cell Phone “Right To Know” ordinance
The court filings for the lawsuit, “CTIA – The Wireless Association v. City of Berkeley et al.” (Case Number 3:150-cv-02529), are available at Law 360.
1/28/2016 Courthouse News Service: Judge Lets Berkeley Warn About Cellphones
April 21, 2017 Court filing on Ordinance being upheld by the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
CBC Report on Fine Print Warnings
