United States Tenth Circuit

Provisions 1-45-103(7), (10)(a), and (11) of Colorado's Fair Campaign Practices Act, limiting independent expenditures in elections by "political committees" unconstitutionally infringes upon free speech, but any unconstitutional portions of the statutes are severable.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/26/2000
• Published 12/27/2000

Judges

• PAUL KELLY, JR., Circuit Judge., Before KELLY, HENRY, Circuit Judges, and SHADUR, District Judge.

Court

• United States Tenth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert F. Hill (Jennifer H. Hunt, with him on the brief) Hill & Robbins, P.C., Denver, Colorado, for the Amici Curiae Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of Colorado., Michael W. Grebe, General Counsel, Thomas J. Josefiak, Chief Counsel, and Alexander N. Vogel, Deputy Counsel, Republican National Committee, Washington, D.C., filed an amicus brief for the Republican National Committee., Gregory Luke,John C. Bonifaz and Brenda Wright, National Voting Rights Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, filed an amicus brief for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, Colorado Chapter.


• For Appellees:
  
• Maurice G. Knaizer, Deputy Attorney General, States Services Section (Ken Salazar, Attorney General, Paul Farley, Special Assistant Attorney General, with him on the briefs) Denver, Colorado, for the Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee., James Bopp, Jr. (Heidi K. Meyer, with him on the briefs), Bopp, Coleson & Bostrom, Terre Haute, Indiana, for Plaintiff-Appellee-Cross-Appellant Citizens for Responsible Government State Political Action Committee and Plaintiffs-Cross-Appellants Colorado Right to Life Committee, Inc., et al.;  Timothy M. Tymkovich, Hale, Hackstaff, Tymkovich & Erkenbrack, LLP, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiffs-Appellees-Cross-Appellants Steve Durham et al. and Plaintiffs-Cross-Appellants Libertarian Party of Colorado et al.;   Blain D. Myhre (Edward T. Ramey, with him on the briefs), Isaacson, Rosenbaum, Woods & Levy, P.C., Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiffs-Appellees-Cross-Appellants Colorado Republicans for Choice et al., Maurice G. Knaizer, Deputy Attorney General, States Services Section (Ken Salazar, Attorney General, with him on the briefs) Denver, Colorado, for the Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee., Blain D. Myhre (Edward T. Ramey, with him on the briefs) Isaacson, Rosenbaum, Woods & Levy, P.C., Denver, Colorado, for the Plaintiff-Appellee-Cross-Appellant.