Jack Gerritsen case rumbles-on

The FCC has denied a Petition for Reconsideration and upheld a $10,000 fine against briefly licensed radio amateur and alleged jammer Jack Gerritsen, ex-KG6IRO, of Bell, California.

The FCC proposed the forfeiture last June after charging that Gerritsen had interfered with Amateur Radio communications.

The Commission affirmed the fine in a Forfeiture Order last October. The following month, Gerritsen, who claims he's still a Commission licensee, wrote the FCC challenging the fine and its basis. The FCC turned away all of his arguments and suggested it was turning up the heat on Gerritsen, who now faces a total of $52,000 in FCC-imposed or proposed fines

"Despite repeated warnings that he holds no valid Commission authorization, investigations by field agents in the Bureau's Western Region reveal that Gerritsen persists in his unauthorized operations in the Amateur Service," the FCC said in a March 4 Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O). "Because of Gerritsen's ongoing illegal activity, we direct the Western Region to continue to coordinate with the United States Attorney for the Central District of California in pursuing additional sanctions against Gerritsen." Signing the MO&O was FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief David H. Solomon.

The FCC said Gerritsen raised one argument that it already had considered and rejected, but he also brought up two new ones in his November 2 handwritten letter, which the FCC considered a Petition for Reconsideration.

The Commission turned away Gerritsen's contention that the federal government was attempting to deprive him of his constitutional right of free speech. The FCC countered by noting that the right of free speech "does not include the right to use radio facilities without a license and that the
licensing system established by Congress in the [Communications] Act was a proper exercise of its power over commerce."

Gerritsen also asserted that the Forfeiture Order deprived him of due process. The FCC pointed out that Sections 503 and 504 of the Communications Act contain safeguards that legally satisfy due process requirements.

The FCC said reconsideration "is appropriate only where the petitioner either demonstrates a material error or omission in the underlying order or raises additional facts not known or not existing until after the petitioner's last opportunity to present such matters."

In mid-December, the ARRL called upon Solomon to intervene with the US Attorney's office in the Gerritsen case, citing the urgency of the situation and suggesting "that procedures other than monetary forfeitures be brought to bear." ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, suggested in the letter that the time for gathering additional evidence was past, since the malicious interference continues.

Several hundred ARRL members from the Los Angeles area have complained to the League about Gerritsen's alleged
activities.

Source: ARRL Letter - courtesy of The American Radio Relay League

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