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Apr 21, 2006 -- Legal Center Weekly Report: April 21, 2006 Legal Center Intervenes in Christian Civic League of Maine v. FEC
On April 17, 2006, the Campaign Legal Center filed a motion on behalf of certain Members of Congress to intervene as defendants in Christian Civic League of Maine, Inc. (CCL) v. FEC, which challenges a portion of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. CCL is attacking the "electioneering communications" provisions of BCRA prohibiting corporate and union treasury funds from being used to influence campaigns right before an election through broadcast advertisements. The motion was filed on behalf of Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI), Representative Christopher Shays (R-CT), Representative Marty Meehan (D-MA), and Representative Tom Allen (D-ME). On Thursday, April 20, 2006, the three-judge court granted the motion to intervene.
The CCL ad at issue in the lawsuit refers to Senator Olympia Snowe, who is an unopposed candidate in the June 13 primary election. The CCL argues the BCRA provision is unconstitutional in this particular case because the ad in question is intended to be a grassroots lobbying ad and, therefore, should be exempted from the definition of "electioneering communication."
A hearing on the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction has been set for Monday, April 24, 2006. The three-judge court is comprised of U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Judith Rogers, and District Court judges Colleen Kollar-Kotelly and Louis F. Oberdorfer.
The Legal Center is serving as-counsel in the case along with Democracy 21. University of Virginia law professor Dan Ortiz is also serving as legal counsel in the case, along with attorneys at the law firms Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr; Heller Ehrman; and Munger Tolles and Olson.
To view the case documents for Christian Civic League of Maine v. FEC, click here.
To view the Legal Center's press release, click here.
On April 19, 2006, the Ethics Coalition (of which CLC is a part) sent a letter to the House asking Members to support H.R. 4799, bipartisan legislation that would create an Office of Public Integrity. According to the letter, the "failure of the House to have a functioning, operational Ethics Committee for most of this Congress is a national disgrace." The Office of Public Integrity would "be an independent, nonpartisan and professional office established in Congress to work with the House Ethics Committee to enforce the House ethics rules." The legislation was introduced by Reps. Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA) and should come to the floor when Congress is back in session next week.
To read the full letter, click here.
On April 17, 2006, the three-judge court in WRTL v. FEC issued a scheduling order in this as-applied constitutional challenge to the "electioneering communications" provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. This case is on remand to the three-judge court from the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled in January that such as-applied challenges were not foreclosed by the Court's decision in McConnell v. FEC, which upheld nearly all of the provisions of BCRA, including a facial challenge to the "electioneering communications" provisions. WRTL proposed to run ads just before the 2004 elections in Wisconsin, claiming the ads, which mentioned then federal candidate Senator Russ Feingold by name, were actually grassroots lobbying ads and not "electioneering communications" under BCRA.
The three-judge court's scheduling order denied WRTL's request to foreclose discovery and to order expedited briefing on motions for summary judgment. The order permits a limited time for discovery, as had been requested by the defendant FEC and the defendant intervenors. The Court also asked the parties to file legal memoranda by the end of April 2006 addressing whether the case is still a "live" controversy in light of the fact that WRTL brought the suit seeking an injunction respecting broadcast ads "that it intended to run during the 2004 election." The Legal Center serves as co-counsel for the congressional intervenors in this case (Senator John McCain, and Representatives Chris Shays, Marty Meehan, and Tammy Baldwin).
CLC Executive Director Speaks to University of Texas Law School
On April 21, 2006, Legal Center Executive Director Gerry Hebert spoke at a luncheon conference at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, on "The Politicization of the Department of Justice". The conference was sponsored by: UT Law Chapter of the American Constitution Society, Chicano/Hispanic Law Students Association, Thurgood Marshall Legal Society, and The Progressive Collective.
Week in the News
To read a variety of this week's editorials and articles on campaign finance, please click here. |
