Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit set oral argument for SpeechNow.org’s appeal of an earlier prelimary injunction ruling. The Dec. 4 hearing in SpeechNow.org v. FEC will be before a three-judge panel: Circuit Judges Henderson and Griffith and Senior Circuit Judge Williams.
The Center for Competitive Politics and the Institute for Justice are representing SpeechNow.org, an independent citizen group, in its battle with the FEC.
SpeechNow.org wants to remain free from intrusive FEC regulations and accept donations without any limits to run ads opposing candidates who support campaign finance “reform.” [The FEC has acknowledged that SpeechNow.org is likely to succeed on the contribution limits point following EMILY’s List v. FEC].
If successful, SpeechNow.org will deal a major blow to the system of campaign finance regulations that limit Americans’ right to spend money supporting or opposing candidates. CCP’s soon-to-be-updated resource page is here; our most recent press release is here. IJ’s resource page is here. The FEC’s resource page on SpeechNow.org v. FEC is here.
BNA: Money & Politics Report ($) has more, from SpeechNow.org’s Sept. 14 hearing in federal court:
SpeechNow.org argues that, because it operates independently of candidates, it should not be subject to contribution limits or the detailed FEC registration and reporting requirements for PACs. It claims that it would take money only from individuals and would disclose its contributors. However, it does not want to be governed by the $5,000 annual limit on the amount that political action committees may receive from each contributor.
Last July, Robertson denied a preliminary injunction sought by the organization… After the preliminary injunction was denied, lawyers for SpeechNow.org — including former Republican FEC Commissioner Bradley Smith — pressed to have the case decided on its merits. Under an unusual provision in campaign finance law, Robertson is expected to make factual findings, then pass the case on to the D.C. Circuit for a decision on the constitutional issues involved.
