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May 11, 2007 -- Legal Center Weekly Report: May 11, 2007 Challenge to Arizona Public Financing Law Dismissed by 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit this week announced its dismissal of Association of American Physicians & Surgeons v. Brewer—a legal challenge to several provisions of Arizona's public financing law. The lawsuit concerned, among other things, whether Arizona's matching funds provision of its public financing system hinders the ability of individuals and groups to engage in protected free speech, and whether the public financing system constitutionally encourages voluntary compliance with spending limits in exchange for public campaign financing. The trial court upheld Arizona's public financing system, and the Campaign Legal Center filed an amicus curiae brief with the Ninth Circuit urging the court of appeals to affirm the trial court's decision.
The Ninth Circuit dismissed the lawsuit as moot, ruling that "federal courts lack jurisdiction to adjudicate challenges to state measures absent a showing of actual impact on the challenger. The rule is clear, absolute, and comprehensive. Our courts do not exist to settle abstract questions, interesting and important as they may be." In this case, plaintiff Association of American Physicians and Surgeons terminated its PAC, and without a PAC, the organization cannot make political expenditures in Arizona elections. Similarly, the multiple plaintiffs who were candidates in 2002 and 2004 did not allege any intent to run for office in future elections. The Ninth Circuit Court concluded that the absence of any intent by the plaintiffs to participate in future elections rendered the case moot.
Yale Law Professor Heather Gerken Joins Campaign Legal Center Board
The Campaign Legal Center announce d this week that Heather Gerken has joined the organization's Board of Directors. Ms. Gerken is a Professor at Yale Law School where she specializes in election law, constitutional law, and civil procedure.
"Heather brings to the board a wealth of knowledge and expertise garnered in private practice, as a scholar and educator at some of the nation's premier law schools, and from within the highest courts in the nation," said Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center. "Her strong voice and varied experiences will complement and enhance the illustrious group that currently makes up the Legal Center Board."
Legal Center Blog Highlights
Each week, the Campaign Legal Center staff posts blog entries on its site, www.clcblog.org . This week's entries include Click to read this week's entry: " The Explanation Can Be Worse Than The Offense Itself ," and " Challenge to Arizona Public Financing Law Dismissed by 9th Circuit ," or to sign up for blog updates, click here .
To read a variety of this week's editorials and articles on a variety of Campaign Legal Center issues, please click here.
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