Briefly, on the legal footnotes: these cases are virtually always filed in the DC Circuit. It's pretty much the go-to when it comes to regulatory stuff, and it's unlikely anyone would file elsewhere given that all the major caselaw on NN and regulatory agencies generally is from DC. Also, a lawsuit isn't as long of a longshot as you might think.
When the government is trying to defend itself from patently illegal and nefarious activity, they file in the 12th. When the public wants a friendly circuit that wants to curtail government overstepping their bounds, they file in the 9th. (See: the Muslim ban.) At least that is how I understand it. So I see it happening like this: The cases currently being filed in the 9th will be found in favor of the public and against the FCC. The FCC will file in the 12th for a summary stay against any injunctions ordered by the 9th, and will win. A Heritage Foundation/Koch-backed front organization will file their case in the 12th, attesting that the FCC ruling is reasonable and warranted. The 12th will rule in favor. There will be an uproar and more attempts by the 9th to overturn or block the key decisions in the 12th's ruling. The inter-court rivalry will eventually be rushed in front of the SCOTUS, who will rule in favor of the 12th findings, with Gorsuch being the tie-breaker. They A/B tested this exact process with the Muslim Ban, refined the process to focused point, and put all the steps in order to push through a BUNCH of pieces of law they want their friendly SCOTUS to rule on ASAP. The 9th Circuit is the dupe in this whole thing. The 12th knows that the 9th has a very pro-Constitution, liberal bias, and will jump like the ACLU at any perceived affront to their liberal, progressive values. So they line up specifically-tailored cases to poke the 9th Circuit bear, make the bear dance, then get the 12th to slap the bear for dancing, and then get SCOTUS to rule in their favor because that dancing bear over there is clearly ridiculous. They've war-gamed this out to the Nth degree...
Except what you're describing isn't how the court system works. No. One federal circuit cannot summarily override another.The FCC will file in the 12th for a summary stay against any injunctions ordered by the 9th, and will win.
Yep. You are right. I mis-remembered what happened with the Muslim ban: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-justice-kennedy-blocks-part-of-9th-circuit-ruling-on-travel-ban/
Reminds me of a joke from elementary school Kid B: My daddy is so rich he owns a Ferrari AND a jet ski! Kid C: My daddy is so rich he owns a mansion, a Ferrari and a jet ski! Kid D: My daddy is so rich he owns a judge!Also, a lawsuit isn't as long of a longshot as you might think.
Kid A: My daddy is so rich he owns a jet ski!