In Skilling v. United States, 130 S. Ct. 2896 (2010), the Supreme Court held that to prove “honest services” fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1346, the government must prove bribery. Id. at 2933. And in United States v. Sun-Diamond Growers of California, 526 U.S. 398 (1999) , the Court made clear that bribery requires proof [...]
Amicus Brief: United States of America v. Kevin Ring
Published on April 3, 2012
Filed Under: Legal, Legal Center, Comments and Testimony, Litigation
Personal PAC demands its right to SpeakNow – and wins.
Published on March 14, 2012
Calling the challenger’s victory “inevitable,” a senior federal judge in Chicago has permanently enjoined a provision of Illinois law limiting contributions to independent-expenditure-only committees. This is the same conclusion reached by the D.C. Circuit in SpeechNow.org v. FEC, a case brought by CCP in 2010 that invalidated a similar cap under federal law. Judge Marvin [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Citizens United, Expenditure, Featured Content, First Amendment, Independent Speech, Legal, Super PACs, Chicago, First Amendment, Personal PAC, SpeechNow, Other Litigation, Illinois, Montana
Colorado Supreme Court rules for the First Amendment in Case joined by CCP
Published on February 21, 2012
Today, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that groups of citizens cannot be treated as a political committee – and have their resources and message limited – unless they explicitly call for the election or defeat of a candidate. CCP participated in the case as a “friend of the court,” in conjunction with the Denver office [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Featured Content, Legal, Super PACs, Litigation, Colorado
This is what the rule of law looks like
Published on February 21, 2012
The Supreme Court’s Citizens United opinion is, concededly, controversial. But it is clearly the law of the land, and as a binding interpretation of the First Amendment, “the judges in every state [are] bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.” Our Chairman, Brad Smith, previously addressed Justice [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Citizens United, Featured Content, Legal, Legal Center, Montana
SCOTUS issues stay on Montana court order challenging Citizens United
Published on February 17, 2012
Late Friday afternoon the Supreme Court granted a stay of the Montana Supreme Court’s order in American Tradition Partnership v. Bullock. That’s the decision in which the Montana Supreme Court adopted the rather bizarre argument by Montana officials that they and their fellow politicians were so uniquely corrupt, and their constituents so uniquely incapable of voting [...]
Filed Under: Blog, Citizens United, Expenditure, Featured Content, Independent Speech, Legal, Disclosure, Independent Speech, Montana
Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett
Published on December 2, 2010
In 1998, Arizona enacted the “Clean Elections Act” via ballot initiative. The law is a statewide tax financing program for political candidates. This case challenges the “matching funds” aspect of the Act. Under “matching funds,” a candidate who opts into the tax financing system will receive extra government subsidies if they face a privately-funded opponent who spends beyond a certain “trigger.” Independent spending in a race outside the control of candidates also triggers additional government subsidies.
Petitioners challenge the case under Davis v. Federal Election Commission, where the Supreme Court held that campaign finance schemes designed to level the playing field between candidates did not serve a compelling state interest.
Filed Under: Legal
Koschnick v. Doyle
Published on January 15, 2010
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge Randy Koschnick filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s recently passed bill enacting taxpayer funded campaigns for state Supreme Court.
Koschnick is represented by James R. Troupis of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP and Stephen M. Hoersting of the Center for Competitive Politics. The case is Koschnick v. Doyle, 3:09-cv-00767.
Filed Under: Legal
Green Party of Connecticut v. Garfield
Published on January 15, 2010
In Green Party of Connecticut v. Garfield, federal judge Stefan Underhill ruled that Connecticut’s taxpayer financing system for state and legislative candidates is unconstitutional but stayed the ruling pending the state’s appeal.
Filed Under: Legal