Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” case will be re-examined at the order of the Supreme Court. Today the justices sent the case back to the federal court in Philadelphia that had originally thrown out the $550,000 government fine against CBS, the network responsible for airing the segment in which the singer’s breast was briefly exposed during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show. The FCC ruled the segment obscene, and 20 of CBS’ affiliates were also fined.

Congress reacted quickly to the incident by increasing the limit on indecency fines tenfold to $325,000 per network, with affiliates accountable for the same amount. However, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals believed that the communications commission had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously.”

Normally live shows are on a five-second delay - Janet’s performance was not.

The television networks say their scripted shows no longer air nudity, racy images or expletives, even after 10 p.m., when some potentially vulgar words are permitted. Networks worry, however, about unplanned, spontaneous indecency or profane incidents during live events such as awards shows and sporting events - censors are on hand to bleep any offensive language. Some indecent words can slip through, and they want to be protected from heavy government fines.

CBS issued this statement today, “[the appeals court] will again recognize that the Super Bowl incident, while inappropriate and regrettable, was not and could not have been anticipated by CBS.”