Justice Dept. says Ninth Circuit ruling on ads threatens noncom character of pubcasting

The U.S. Justice Department is asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its April ruling that a federal law banning public television and radio stations from running political advertising was unconstitutional, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Justice Department contends the ruling "threatens the noncommercial, educational character of public broadcasting." A rehearing could take the form of a review by a larger panel of Ninth Circuit judges, the newspaper says.