Campaign finance lawyer James Bopp, Jr. sends word today that he’s filing a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of the Wisconsin Right to Life Political Action Committee challenging the state’s recently-signed bill enacting taxpayer financed campaigns for state Supreme Court.
The Center for Competitive Politics has pointed out several policy problems and constitutional flaws in the legislation.
Here’s Bopp’s release:
Lawsuit Challenges Public Funding For Supreme Court Races
Today, Wisconsin Right to Life Political Action Committee filed suit in federal court against Wisconsin’s recently enacted public funding scheme for Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates, asserting it is an unconstitutional infringement of their First Amendment free speech rights.
Under the scheme, supreme court candidates who agree not to fundraise are given initial campaign funds from the state of $300,000, with additional “rescue fund” money of a total of $900,000, depending on the amount spent by third parties and their opponents.
Wisconsin Right to Life’s PAC plans to spend its own money supporting candidates for the upcoming 2011 Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Wisconsin Right to Life challenges the inclusion of third party spending in determining when a participating candidate has been out-spent by a non-participating opponent and is entitled to rescue funds. It also challenges rules that require additional reports on its spending because the reports are in place solely to make sure candidates receive additional public funding.According to James Bopp, Jr., counsel for Wisconsin Right to Life, “under this system, simply running an ad against a candidate can result in that candidate getting more taxpayer money.” Says Bopp, “third parties are chilled from speaking in support of a candidate because doing so will likely result in providing additional funds to that candidate’s opponent.”
The case is Wisconsin Right to Life v. Brennan, et al., 3:09-cv-764. The complaint will be available in PDF online at the James Madison Center’s website, www.jamesmadisoncenter.org, under the “WRTL v. Brennan.”
James Bopp, Jr. has a national federal and state election law practice. He is General Counsel for the James Madison Center for Free Speech and former Co-Chairman of the Election Law Subcommittee of the Federalist Society.
