The U.S. Supreme Court this week put an end to the high-profile ham radio license renewal case of a well-known Virgin Islands broadcaster and engineer.
The high court denied Herb Schoenbohm's petition for a writ of certiorari. It represented the St. Croix resident’s last avenue of legal appeal in the case, which stretches back to 1994. The Supreme Court's decision will put amateur radio station, KV4FZ, off the air and terminate Schoenbohm's legal efforts to get the Federal Communications Commission to renew his Amateur Radio license.
The announcement came from the Supreme Court on Monday. Schoenbohm's case had been on its docket for possible consideration during the court's current term, according to the American Radio Relay League.
"Schoenbohm . . . had called on the Supreme Court justices to request the record of his case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for review," the ARRL newsletter said. The Supreme Court offered no comment in turning down Schoenbohm's petition.
Following Schoenbohm's 1992 felony conviction on federal fraud charges, the
FCC set his Amateur Radio renewal application for a hearing in 1994. The FCC subsequently turned down his application, citing his conviction and character issues.
"The U.S. Appeals Court turned down Schoenbohm's request for a rehearing by the full bench after it rejected his appeal of the FCC's decision last February," the ARRL newsletter said.
In prior court proceedings, Schoenbohm had said he was the first amateur to face the loss of his license on the basis of character. As a result of the Supreme Court's decision, Schoenbohm may not use up to four other call signs he is licensed for while in the U.S. Virgin Islands, other territories or the mainland. The call signs, VP2VFZ, VP2MFZ, VP2EFZ and PY1ZAI were previously issued by foreign governments to Schoenbohm including: the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Anguilla and Brazil. Industry officials, however, said none of the call signs are authorized for use in the Virgin Islands or any other U.S. jurisdiction.
