United States DC Circuit

In a First Amendment challenge to Federal Elections Commission (FEC) regulations limiting how much non-profit organizations engaged in political activities could raise and spend, summary judgment for defendant-FEC is reversed where: 1) the regulations were not "closely drawn" to serve a cognizable anticorruption interest; and 2) the FEC lacked authority under the Federal Election Campaign Act to presume that any public communications that merely "refer" to a federal candidate necessarily seek to influence a federal election.

Appellate Information

• Argued 05/04/2009
• Decided 09/18/2009
• Published 09/18/2009

Judges

• Before: HENDERSON, BROWN, and KAVANAUGH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States DC Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert F. Bauer argued the cause for appellant. With him on the briefs were Ezra W. Reese and Brian G. Svoboda.


• For Appellees:
  
• David Kolker, Associate General Counsel, Federal Election Commission, argued the cause for appellee. With him on the brief were Thomasenia P. Duncan, General Counsel, Harry J. Summers, Assistant General Counsel, and Vivien Clair, Attorney. Gregory J. Mueller, Attorney, entered an appearance., Donald J. Simon, Fred Wertheimer, J. Gerald Hebert, Trevor Potter, and Paul S. Ryan were on the brief for amici curiae Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 in support of appellee.