[arrl-odv:22299] Exhibit B to Report of the General Counsel, Document #12 CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION
Greetings. I have today received from Riley Hollingsworth the attached notes that he prepared of his summary thoughts about enforcement in the Amateur Service now. As most of you know, we have, without fanfare, contracted with Riley to help us advocate for improvements in enforcement, which have over time, since Riley's retirement, devolved considerably, at least in terms of visibility. I have not edited Riley's report at all, except to reformat it for perhaps more convenient reading. Riley added the material at the end below the line in a separate e-mail as an afterthought, so I pasted it in. Riley offers a good, constructive suggestion for improving Laura Smith's visibility; one that I think we should explore. I have in my last few Board reports and in reports to the Executive Committee summarized my own take on the state of enforcement, but that makes little sense when you should be hearing directly from our own contractor, whose assistance and credibility we put a good deal of stock in. So please do read this prior to the meeting if you have time, and please consider this to be Exhibit B to my previously distributed Board Report. Though Riley has a lot of credibility with us and with the Amateur Radio Community, it is my observation that Riley tends to be overly optimistic about the Amateur Radio enforcement program. You will note that he mentions twice that he feels that enforcement will improve in 2014 over 2013, but there does not seem to be much evidence of that. It is unclear at the moment who is heading up the Enforcement Bureau and who will occupy that slot under new FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's tenure, which is just now getting underway. Riley has always been bullish on Laura Smith, a sentiment that I don't share. I believe that Riley expresses optimism because he in effect handed over the reins to Laura when Riley retired, and he assured us at the time that the program would continue after his retirement. For various reasons, the majority of which are by no means Laura's fault, the program has seriously suffered since Riley's retirement. I think Riley feels some guilt about this, but he shouldn't. This report is very helpful, and it provides I think a good basis for developing an enforcement advocacy strategy for 2014. Please keep this confidential for obvious reasons. Thanks. 73, Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay Booth, Freret, Imlay & Tepper. P.C. 14356 Cape May Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6011 (301) 384-5525 telephone (301) 384-6384 facsimile W3KD@ARRL.ORG
The following is provided just as an FYI regarding enforcement in one fairly clear cut case involving the fitness of an individual to hold a license. In December of 2009 I reported a local amateur to Laura for possible license revocation. I received a reply from Laura very shortly after I sent my email. The individual has multiple arrests for the sexual exploitation of minors under the age of 12 and has been adjudicated a sexual offender. I provided Laura with links to news articles about the individual and links to official Florida records about him. In looking at his license record in ULS, the license expired 6/8/2013. He previously applied for an address change and subsequently timely applied for renewal. The history shows that the address change was “Offlined for Alert List Review” on 10/16/2012 (& other dates) and pending applications (address change and renewal) “Offlined for Enforcement Bureau Action” on both 10/16/2012 and 01/10/2013. Apparently an “alert” was placed on his license after I sent Laura the information and that alert was triggered by his address modification application and again by his renewal application. Looking at his QRZ page, he says that the FCC is investigating an issue with his station, his renewal is pending, and that he was told he could continue to operate even though the license is expired. Here’s a similar case where the complaint was made in 2006 and the revocation occurred in 2009: http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-upholds-decision-to-revoke-amateur-license-of-c... Thanks & 73, Doug Doug Rehman, K4AC Director Southeastern Division ARRL National Association of the Amateur Radio <http://www.arrlse.org> www.arrlse.org <http://www.facebook.com/arrlse> www.facebook.com/arrlse Cell Phone: 352-455-4087 From: arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Chris Imlay Sent: Monday, January 13, 2014 10:19 AM To: arrl-odv@arrl.org Cc: lkustosik@arrl.org; dhenderson@arrl.org Subject: [arrl-odv:22299] Exhibit B to Report of the General Counsel, Document #12 CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION Greetings. I have today received from Riley Hollingsworth the attached notes that he prepared of his summary thoughts about enforcement in the Amateur Service now. As most of you know, we have, without fanfare, contracted with Riley to help us advocate for improvements in enforcement, which have over time, since Riley's retirement, devolved considerably, at least in terms of visibility. I have not edited Riley's report at all, except to reformat it for perhaps more convenient reading. Riley added the material at the end below the line in a separate e-mail as an afterthought, so I pasted it in. Riley offers a good, constructive suggestion for improving Laura Smith's visibility; one that I think we should explore. I have in my last few Board reports and in reports to the Executive Committee summarized my own take on the state of enforcement, but that makes little sense when you should be hearing directly from our own contractor, whose assistance and credibility we put a good deal of stock in. So please do read this prior to the meeting if you have time, and please consider this to be Exhibit B to my previously distributed Board Report. Though Riley has a lot of credibility with us and with the Amateur Radio Community, it is my observation that Riley tends to be overly optimistic about the Amateur Radio enforcement program. You will note that he mentions twice that he feels that enforcement will improve in 2014 over 2013, but there does not seem to be much evidence of that. It is unclear at the moment who is heading up the Enforcement Bureau and who will occupy that slot under new FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's tenure, which is just now getting underway. Riley has always been bullish on Laura Smith, a sentiment that I don't share. I believe that Riley expresses optimism because he in effect handed over the reins to Laura when Riley retired, and he assured us at the time that the program would continue after his retirement. For various reasons, the majority of which are by no means Laura's fault, the program has seriously suffered since Riley's retirement. I think Riley feels some guilt about this, but he shouldn't. This report is very helpful, and it provides I think a good basis for developing an enforcement advocacy strategy for 2014. Please keep this confidential for obvious reasons. Thanks. 73, Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay Booth, Freret, Imlay & Tepper. P.C. 14356 Cape May Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6011 (301) 384-5525 telephone (301) 384-6384 facsimile W3KD@ARRL.ORG
Doug, that story is SOP for FCC at the moment with respect to sex offenders. FCC has quite a large number of renewal applications pending from convicted sex offenders (involving cases of varying vintages) and they have all been heldup pending development of an FCC policy on the subject. The case you mention has been handled in precisely the same way that quite a few others have been handled recently. It is hornbook FCC law that if someone files a timely license renewal application (in any radio service) which is held for any reason beyond the expiration of the previous term of the license, the renewal applicant has continued operating authority until final adjudication of his or her renewal application. FCC has no ability to treat any licensee different from any other, regardless of the prior judicial findings that raise character qualifications to remain an FCC licensee. Of course, in some cases, notably Glenn Baxter, K1MAN, this procedural policy has been played far beyond the point of abuse, but there is nothing to be done about that. With respect to sex offenders, in the recent past FCC has viewed the matter variously. For some time, if the convictions were old (i.e. plus ten years or so), FCC tended to renew FCC licenses without question. FCC has a very narrow character qualfications policy, developed in the broadcast area. The theory is that FCC is only interested in behavior that bears on the FCC's ability to rely on that licensee for truth and candor with respect to the use of a public trust. If a licensee is adjudicated a felon by a court, and that conviction is final, and if the crime involves moral turpitude, FCC examined the facts to determine whether or not the person should remain a licensee. So the outcomes differed depending on circumstances. But more recently, at the former FCC Chairman's directive, sex offenders' license renewal applications were ordered to be held up pending development of a more uniform policy, which has not happened. So the case you cite is in limbo at the moment and will remain so until the new Chairman addresses the issue generally. A big mess? Sure. But as Riley Hollingsworth said, the former EB chief was no help at all; she was perfectly happy to let troublesome items lie forever. 73, Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay Booth, Freret, Imlay & Tepper. P.C. 14356 Cape May Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6011 (301) 384-5525 telephone (301) 384-6384 facsimile W3KD@ARRL.ORG -----Original Message----- From: Doug Rehman <doug@k4ac.com> To: 'Chris Imlay' <w3kd@aol.com>; arrl-odv <arrl-odv@arrl.org> Sent: Mon, Jan 13, 2014 11:28 am Subject: RE: [arrl-odv:22299] Exhibit B to Report of the General Counsel, Document #12 CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION The following is provided just as an FYI regarding enforcement in one fairly clear cut case involving the fitness of an individual to hold a license. In December of 2009 I reported a local amateur to Laura for possible license revocation. I received a reply from Laura very shortly after I sent my email. The individual has multiple arrests for the sexual exploitation of minors under the age of 12 and has been adjudicated a sexual offender. I provided Laura with links to news articles about the individual and links to official Florida records about him. In looking at his license record in ULS, the license expired 6/8/2013. He previously applied for an address change and subsequently timely applied for renewal. The history shows that the address change was “Offlined for Alert List Review” on 10/16/2012 (& other dates) and pending applications (address change and renewal) “Offlined for Enforcement Bureau Action” on both 10/16/2012 and 01/10/2013. Apparently an “alert” was placed on his license after I sent Laura the information and that alert was triggered by his address modification application and again by his renewal application. Looking at his QRZ page, he says that the FCC is investigating an issue with his station, his renewal is pending, and that he was told he could continue to operate even though the license is expired. Here’s a similar case where the complaint was made in 2006 and the revocation occurred in 2009: http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-upholds-decision-to-revoke-amateur-license-of-c... Thanks & 73, Doug Doug Rehman, K4AC Director Southeastern Division ARRL National Association of the Amateur Radio www.arrlse.org www.facebook.com/arrlse Cell Phone: 352-455-4087 From: arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Chris Imlay Sent: Monday, January 13, 2014 10:19 AM To: arrl-odv@arrl.org Cc: lkustosik@arrl.org; dhenderson@arrl.org Subject: [arrl-odv:22299] Exhibit B to Report of the General Counsel, Document #12 CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION Greetings. I have today received from Riley Hollingsworth the attached notes that he prepared of his summary thoughts about enforcement in the Amateur Service now. As most of you know, we have, without fanfare, contracted with Riley to help us advocate for improvements in enforcement, which have over time, since Riley's retirement, devolved considerably, at least in terms of visibility. I have not edited Riley's report at all, except to reformat it for perhaps more convenient reading. Riley added the material at the end below the line in a separate e-mail as an afterthought, so I pasted it in. Riley offers a good, constructive suggestion for improving Laura Smith's visibility; one that I think we should explore. I have in my last few Board reports and in reports to the Executive Committee summarized my own take on the state of enforcement, but that makes little sense when you should be hearing directly from our own contractor, whose assistance and credibility we put a good deal of stock in. So please do read this prior to the meeting if you have time, and please consider this to be Exhibit B to my previously distributed Board Report. Though Riley has a lot of credibility with us and with the Amateur Radio Community, it is my observation that Riley tends to be overly optimistic about the Amateur Radio enforcement program. You will note that he mentions twice that he feels that enforcement will improve in 2014 over 2013, but there does not seem to be much evidence of that. It is unclear at the moment who is heading up the Enforcement Bureau and who will occupy that slot under new FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's tenure, which is just now getting underway. Riley has always been bullish on Laura Smith, a sentiment that I don't share. I believe that Riley expresses optimism because he in effect handed over the reins to Laura when Riley retired, and he assured us at the time that the program would continue after his retirement. For various reasons, the majority of which are by no means Laura's fault, the program has seriously suffered since Riley's retirement. I think Riley feels some guilt about this, but he shouldn't. This report is very helpful, and it provides I think a good basis for developing an enforcement advocacy strategy for 2014. Please keep this confidential for obvious reasons. Thanks. 73, Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay Booth, Freret, Imlay & Tepper. P.C. 14356 Cape May Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6011 (301) 384-5525 telephone (301) 384-6384 facsimile W3KD@ARRL.ORG
Chris, Can you explain Mary Beth Richards being brought back as a volunteer advisor? I remember us having a talk about Federal Agencies being prohibited from having volunteers-Title V or something? '73 de JIM N2ZZ From: arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Chris Imlay Sent: Monday, January 13, 2014 10:19 AM To: arrl-odv@arrl.org Cc: lkustosik@arrl.org; dhenderson@arrl.org Subject: [arrl-odv:22299] Exhibit B to Report of the General Counsel, Document #12 CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION Greetings. I have today received from Riley Hollingsworth the attached notes that he prepared of his summary thoughts about enforcement in the Amateur Service now. As most of you know, we have, without fanfare, contracted with Riley to help us advocate for improvements in enforcement, which have over time, since Riley's retirement, devolved considerably, at least in terms of visibility. I have not edited Riley's report at all, except to reformat it for perhaps more convenient reading. Riley added the material at the end below the line in a separate e-mail as an afterthought, so I pasted it in. Riley offers a good, constructive suggestion for improving Laura Smith's visibility; one that I think we should explore. I have in my last few Board reports and in reports to the Executive Committee summarized my own take on the state of enforcement, but that makes little sense when you should be hearing directly from our own contractor, whose assistance and credibility we put a good deal of stock in. So please do read this prior to the meeting if you have time, and please consider this to be Exhibit B to my previously distributed Board Report. Though Riley has a lot of credibility with us and with the Amateur Radio Community, it is my observation that Riley tends to be overly optimistic about the Amateur Radio enforcement program. You will note that he mentions twice that he feels that enforcement will improve in 2014 over 2013, but there does not seem to be much evidence of that. It is unclear at the moment who is heading up the Enforcement Bureau and who will occupy that slot under new FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's tenure, which is just now getting underway. Riley has always been bullish on Laura Smith, a sentiment that I don't share. I believe that Riley expresses optimism because he in effect handed over the reins to Laura when Riley retired, and he assured us at the time that the program would continue after his retirement. For various reasons, the majority of which are by no means Laura's fault, the program has seriously suffered since Riley's retirement. I think Riley feels some guilt about this, but he shouldn't. This report is very helpful, and it provides I think a good basis for developing an enforcement advocacy strategy for 2014. Please keep this confidential for obvious reasons. Thanks. 73, Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay Booth, Freret, Imlay & Tepper. P.C. 14356 Cape May Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6011 (301) 384-5525 telephone (301) 384-6384 facsimile W3KD@ARRL.ORG
Jim, that part of Riley's report was a surprise to me too. There is a prohibition on Federal agencies' accepting volunteer service absent statutory authority for it; it is in Title 31 of the U.S. Code. The intent is to protect Congress' prerogative in the appropriations process. I think there must be some sort of contractual arrangement here with Mary Beth. Those kinds of things are done with retirees all the time. Mary Beth was a favorite of old Field Operations Bureau and Compliance Bureau staff when she was there. I don't see much direct translation to a benefit for Amateur Radio enforcement but it can't hurt to have a good acquaintance of Riley's in the Chairman's office now. The combination of that and the new Wireless Bureau Chief coming in from Greg Walden's Subcommittee staff POTENTIALLY gives us access that we haven't had at FCC for some time. A good time to visit both of these folks, really. 73, Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay Booth, Freret, Imlay & Tepper. P.C. 14356 Cape May Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6011 (301) 384-5525 telephone (301) 384-6384 facsimile W3KD@ARRL.ORG -----Original Message----- From: James F. Boehner MD <jboehner01@yahoo.com> To: 'Chris Imlay' <w3kd@aol.com>; arrl-odv <arrl-odv@arrl.org> Sent: Mon, Jan 13, 2014 9:59 pm Subject: RE: [arrl-odv:22299] Exhibit B to Report of the General Counsel, Document #12 CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION Chris, Can you explain Mary Beth Richards being brought back as a volunteer advisor? I remember us having a talk about Federal Agencies being prohibited from having volunteers-Title V or something? ’73 de JIM N2ZZ From: arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Chris Imlay Sent: Monday, January 13, 2014 10:19 AM To: arrl-odv@arrl.org Cc: lkustosik@arrl.org; dhenderson@arrl.org Subject: [arrl-odv:22299] Exhibit B to Report of the General Counsel, Document #12 CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION Greetings. I have today received from Riley Hollingsworth the attached notes that he prepared of his summary thoughts about enforcement in the Amateur Service now. As most of you know, we have, without fanfare, contracted with Riley to help us advocate for improvements in enforcement, which have over time, since Riley's retirement, devolved considerably, at least in terms of visibility. I have not edited Riley's report at all, except to reformat it for perhaps more convenient reading. Riley added the material at the end below the line in a separate e-mail as an afterthought, so I pasted it in. Riley offers a good, constructive suggestion for improving Laura Smith's visibility; one that I think we should explore. I have in my last few Board reports and in reports to the Executive Committee summarized my own take on the state of enforcement, but that makes little sense when you should be hearing directly from our own contractor, whose assistance and credibility we put a good deal of stock in. So please do read this prior to the meeting if you have time, and please consider this to be Exhibit B to my previously distributed Board Report. Though Riley has a lot of credibility with us and with the Amateur Radio Community, it is my observation that Riley tends to be overly optimistic about the Amateur Radio enforcement program. You will note that he mentions twice that he feels that enforcement will improve in 2014 over 2013, but there does not seem to be much evidence of that. It is unclear at the moment who is heading up the Enforcement Bureau and who will occupy that slot under new FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's tenure, which is just now getting underway. Riley has always been bullish on Laura Smith, a sentiment that I don't share. I believe that Riley expresses optimism because he in effect handed over the reins to Laura when Riley retired, and he assured us at the time that the program would continue after his retirement. For various reasons, the majority of which are by no means Laura's fault, the program has seriously suffered since Riley's retirement. I think Riley feels some guilt about this, but he shouldn't. This report is very helpful, and it provides I think a good basis for developing an enforcement advocacy strategy for 2014. Please keep this confidential for obvious reasons. Thanks. 73, Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay Booth, Freret, Imlay & Tepper. P.C. 14356 Cape May Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6011 (301) 384-5525 telephone (301) 384-6384 facsimile W3KD@ARRL.ORG
participants (3)
-
Chris Imlay -
Doug Rehman -
James F. Boehner MD