The decades long saga of Glenn Baxter/K1MAN has moved one more step towards
it's eventual conclusion this week with a series of events which has lead
to the revocation of his license.

As you may recall, K1MAN was fined for various infractions of FCC regulatio
ns nearly 10 years ago. The license K1MAN expired in 2005. A renewal was
filed just before the expiration date so the license remained active while
the renewal was pending. The renewal was "off-lined for enforcement activi
ty" and the case ended up in the appeals process where it languished while
the FCC's fine wound it's way though the civil court system.

The civil courts upheld the majority of the FCC's fines though a summary ju
dgement (there was no trial thankfully) a little over a year ago. There wa
s a short appeal which K1MAN lost when the three judges unanimously turned
down his appeal. With the fine established as legal K1MAN now owed the FCC
$10,000.

The off-lined renewal application remained pending though all this as the e
nforcement hearing at the FCC was put off pending the civil trial. With th
e civil trial over attention turned back to the question of K1MAN's renewal
and if he had the requisite qualifications to be a Ham radio operator.

The most recent action in the renewal case happened on Monday. The judge h
earing the case responded to a motion by FCC's enforcement lawyers to dismi
ss the pending application due to the "red light rule" which automatically
dismisses applications from people who owe the FCC money. While the judge
denied the motion, he continued the hearing and indicated that the applicat
ion may be denied using the "Red Light Rule" if the Commission wanted. Thi
s was done and the denial letter was sent on Tuesday, ending K1MAN's operat
ing authority.

K1MAN's license will remain 'active' during the appeal period. The appeal
can only be on the application of the Red Light Rule to his renewal applica
tion. I believe the appeal period is 30 days. Such an appeal will most ce
rtainly be denied, unless the fines are or have been paid. However, any ap
peal does not change the fact that K1MAN's renewal was denied and his opera
ting privileges have been removed as a result.

I don't suppose this is over, but we clearly have reached a milestone in th
is decade long process. K1MAN no longer can claim he is operating legally
as his license has now expired. Should he which to get his license back, h
e will have to pay the fine and then successfully face down the FCC who wil
l claim he is not fit to have a license. He's made it clear he won't pay t
he fine and it seem obvious that the FCC would easily prove he's unfit for
a license.

The wheels of government turn slowly, but they grind very fine...

73's

KC4UAI