William Leigh Dougan v. Federal Communications Commission, United States of America

Opinion by Judge POOLE.

Petitioner William Leigh Dougan seeks review of a forfeiture order issued by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”). The FCC found that he had violated the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. § 301 and 47 C.F.R. § 15.29 by operating a radio station without a license and by refusing to permit FCC engineers to inspect the station. Dougan challenges the jurisdiction of the FCC over his intrastate broadcasts and the constitutionality of the licensing regulations. For the reasons given below, we find that this court lacks jurisdiction and therefore dismiss the appeal.

I.

It is undisputed that Dougan was operating an unlicensed FM radio station, which he called “KAPW,” out of a backyard shed at his home in Phoenix, Arizona. He was transmitting with a power of 0.5 W, and he claims his transmissions could be received 1.5-2.5 miles from their source. The local field office of the FCC traced 88.9 MHZ radio signals to Dougan’s home on March 12 and March 17, 1992. On March 17, 1992, three FCC engineers knocked on the front door, and announced, their desire to speak with Dougan. It is disputed whether they specifically asked to inspect the radio equipment.…