Free Speech For People asks full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear challenge to super PACs Posted on November 18, 2019 (June 18, 2020) Challenging Super PACs We recently filed a petition for rehearing en banc in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs. The goal of the Lieu litigation is to give the D.C. Circuit, or the Supreme Court, the opportunity to overturn the D.C. Circuit’s 2010 SpeechNow decision that created superRead More
Next steps in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs Posted on August 20, 2019 (June 12, 2020) Challenging Super PACs In 2016, Free Speech For People, on behalf of a bipartisan coalition of Members of Congress and 2016 congressional candidates, filed a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission to abolish super PACs. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., seeks the reversal of the 2010 ruling of the U.S. Court of AppealsRead More
Senators Whitehouse, Blumenthal, Hirono submit amicus brief in challenge to super PACs Posted on June 28, 2019 (June 18, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Today, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs. In their brief, the senators urge the court to reexamine its previous SpeechNow holding that failed to recognize the practical effectRead More
CREW submits amicus brief in challenge to super PACs Posted on June 28, 2019 (June 18, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) submitted an amicus brief in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs. The brief argues that the DC Circuit erred in SpeechNow.Org v. FEC when it created super PACs, and that the full Court should reconsider that decision. CREW’s brief makes threeRead More
Researchers submit amicus brief on the appearance of corruption and super PACs Posted on June 27, 2019 (June 18, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Today, a group of empirical researchers submitted an amicus brief in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs. The brief by Professor Christopher Robertson (Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and Professor of Law at the University of Arizona), Professor Kelly Bergstrand (Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University ofRead More
New reply brief in the case that could end super PACs Posted on June 24, 2019 (June 18, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Today, we filed a short procedural reply brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs. The goal of the Lieu litigation is to give the D.C. Circuit, or the Supreme Court, the opportunity to overturn the D.C. Circuit’s 2010 SpeechNow decision that createdRead More
New filing in the case that could end super PACs Posted on June 21, 2019 (June 18, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Today, we filed a petition for initial hearing en banc in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs. The goal of the Lieu litigation is to give the D.C. Circuit, or the Supreme Court, the opportunity to overturn the D.C. Circuit’s 2010 SpeechNow decisionRead More
HOW WE CAN END SUPER PACS, OVERTURN SPEECHNOW, AND ADVANCE A NEW JURISPRUDENCE ON MONEY IN POLITICS WITH THE CURRENT SUPREME COURT Posted on March 12, 2019 (June 9, 2020) Challenging Super PACs INTRODUCTION In 2015, Free Speech For People began developing a legal strategy to bring new test cases that could win at the Supreme Court, even under the Roberts Court as it existed at that time. These test cases were designed to make jurisprudential progress without challenging Citizens United, and assumed that we would need to getRead More
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: Dangerous Consequences for Democracy — An FEC Commissioner Speaks Out Posted on October 20, 2016 (June 10, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Presented by Temple Beth-El and the Leif Nissen Foundation Thursday October 27, 7:30pm A Q/A session and Dessert Reception follow the lecture. This event is free and open to the public. The Leif Nissen Foundation was created by Karen Lieberman & Bruce Nissen to honor their son Leif (May 21, 1980–November 19, 2008) ofRead More
Taking on Citizens United: Short and Long-term Strategies To Restore Our Democracy Posted on October 11, 2016 (May 29, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Presented by the Stetson Law Chapter of the American Constitution Society THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2712PM – 1PM The Great Hall of the Gulfport Campus at Stetson University College of Law This panel brings together some of the country’s boldest campaign finance reformers for a vibrant discussion on how to connect our current constitutional moment and theRead More