Court will reconsider issue of political ads on noncoms in March 2013

An 11-judge federal appeals court panel in San Francisco will reconsider a ruling that would allow public TV and radio stations to air political ads, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. A three-member panel had ruled in April that a 1981 law banning noncom stations from running the ads violated freedom of speech. On Wednesday, the full court said a majority of its judges agreed to grant the federal government’s request for a rehearing, which is scheduled for March.