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Jul 7, 2006 -- Legal Center Weekly Report: July 7, 2006
On July 7, 2006 , the Campaign Legal Center filed a Memorandum with the three-judge court in Christian Civic League of Maine (CCL) v. FEC —an as-applied challenge to the electioneering communications provisions of BCRA. The memorandum was filed on behalf of the intervenors Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WI), as well as Representatives Chris Shays (R-CT), Marty Meehan (D-MA) and Tom Allen (D-ME). In this case, CCL sought to run an ad entitled "Crossroads" that would have been broadcast 30 days before the June primary in Maine . The ad was critical of a position taken by United States Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine , who was referenced by name in the ad and was a candidate in the June primary. In May 2006, the three-judge court denied CCL's motion for a preliminary injunction that would have permitted CCL to run the ad and would have declared BCRA unconstitutional with respect to the Crossroads ad. The order denying that injunction is presently pending on appeal in the United States Supreme Court.
In the Memorandum on Mootness, the Intervenor-Defendants argued that the "Crossroads" portion of the case does indeed appear moot. With regard to whether the issue in the case was "capable of repetition, yet evading review" (an exception to the mootness doctrine), Intervenor-Defendants noted that CCL bears the burden of establishing the conditions necessary for application of that doctrine. Because CCL has represented that it has no intent to air "Crossroads" or a materially similar ad in the future, Intervenor-Defendants concluded that CCL had failed to meet its burden of showing the case was not moot. The three-judge court has scheduled a hearing on pending motions and the mootness issue for August 8.
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 Memorandum on Mootness, click here .
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