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Apr 25, 2008 -- Legal Center Weekly Report: April 25, 2008 Request for Injunction Rejected by Three Courts
After the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the case brought by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) to strike down provisions of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA), NAM made repeated attempts to obtain an injunction to bar enforcement of HLOGA while it appealed the district court's decision. On April 19, 2008, the district court rejected NAM's request for an emergency injunction, and on April 21, 2008, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia also rejected the request. This Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court joined the lower courts and also denied the trade association's request for an injunction to enjoin the law pending its appeal. In a press release on the same day, NAM President John Engler said that NAM will file an amended disclosure report including all the information required by HLOGA.
On February 29, 2008, the Legal Center, along with Democracy 21 and Public Citizen, filed an amici brief with district court to defend the constitutionality of HLOGA.
On April 22, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Davis v. FEC, a case challenging the so-called "Millionaires' Amendment" to the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. This provision temporarily raises contribution limits and suspends limits on spending coordinated with political parties for candidates who run against self-financing opponents who spend personal funds in excess of a specified monetary threshold. The petitioner in the case, Jack Davis, a candidate who ran two unsuccessful self-financed campaigns for Congress, has challenged the Millionaires' Amendment on grounds that it unconstitutionally chills the speech of wealthy candidates like himself by discouraging self-financed campaigns.
On March 26, 2008, the Campaign Legal Center, joined by Democracy 21, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and Public Citizen, filed an amici brief supporting the constitutionality of the Millionaires' Amendment. The amici brief argues that the Millionaires' Amendment places no limits on Davis' right to spend as much money as he wants, and thus in no way chills or infringes upon his speech.
Federal Court Issues Injunction in West Virginia Campaign Finance Case
On April 22, 2008, a federal judge in West Virginia granted a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of West Virginia state laws that prohibit corporations from funding election-related communications and requiring disclosure of those funding such communications. In a 17-page decision, U.S. District Judge David Faber said, among other things, that state campaign finance laws cannot regulate financing of messages unless they include specific words of express advocacy for or against candidates. The case is styled Center for Individual Freedom Inc. v. Ireland. The Legal Center is considering participation in this case.
On Friday, April 25, 2008, the Legal Center's Executive Director and Director of Litigation, Gerry Hebert, spoke at the National Conference of State Legislature's Spring Forum in Washington DC. Mr. Hebert was a panelist at a session held by NCSL's Redistricting and Elections Committee. The panel topic was "The 50% Rule for Minority Districts--Supreme Court Set to Tackle Contentious Voting Rights Issue." In his remarks, Mr. Hebert discussed the issues involved in the North Carolina redistricting case which the U. S. Supreme Court will hear and decide next term. The case, Bartlett v. Strickland, raises an important question under the Voting Rights Act: whether a vote dilution claim requires that a minority group constitute a literal, mathematical majority of a proposed district's population (the so-called "50% Rule"), or whether instead it suffices if the group constitutes an effective voting majority in a proposed "coalition district" (less than 50%), where minority-preferred candidates can prevail with limited but reliable crossover support from other voters.
On April 21, Campaign Legal Center Policy Director, Meredith McGehee, addressed 35 members of the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia at their annual, "Inside Washington Conference." McGehee discussed the role of money and the media in the upcoming elections as well as the current FEC stalemate. Established in 1949 , the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to creating an informed citizenry on matters of national and international significance.
Legal Center Blog Highlights
Each week, the Campaign Legal Center staff posts blog entries on its site, www.clcblog.org. To read this week's entry, "A 'Wynning Hand' for the Revolving Door" or to sign up for the blog, click here.
Week in the News
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