In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court on January 21, 2010 struck down the 60-year-old federal prohibition on corporate independent expenditures in candidate elections in Citizens United v. FEC. By a vote of 8-1, however, the Supreme Court, upheld the electioneering communications disclosure...

CLC is suing the GSA over its refusal to provide travel records responsive to CLC’s FOIA request.

CLC sought to compel DOJ to disclose records on how DOJ reached its conclusion to rescind administration policy to phase-out private prison contracts and whether GEO Group's contributions to a Trump super PAC played a role in the decision. The case has been settled.

Citizens United v. Schneiderman is a challenge to a New York State law that requires registered charitable organizations to report their donors to the state attorney general. 

On July 24, 2012, Illinois Liberty PAC (ILP) filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois challenging the constitutionality of Illinois’ state contribution limits...

The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) sets individual contribution limits to federal candidates at $2,700 per election — with primaries, general elections, runoffs and special elections each counted separately.

On October 17, 2014, plaintiffs filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado challenging Colorado’s electioneering communication disclosure requirements as facially overbroad, and challenging the associated $1,000 reporting threshold and the state’s private enforcement...

Three Unnamed Petitioners v. Peterson is a challenge to the State of Wisconsin’s restrictions on the coordination of expenditures between candidates and outside groups.

In May 2014, the Colorado Republican Party (CRP) filed suit in state court seeking a declaratory judgment that would allow it to establish an independent expenditure committee, or “Super PAC,” that could operate outside the otherwise applicable state limits for contributions to political parties...

In August 2010, plaintiffs filed suit to challenge multiple aspects of Hawaii state campaign finance law, including the statutory definitions of “political committee” and “expenditure,” several disclosure provisions and the state restriction on contributions from government contractors. On March 21...

The state Republican parties of New York and Tennessee challenged an SEC rule barring investment firms from managing state assets for two years after a firm or its associates make more than de minimis contributions to officeholders or candidates who have or would have power to award investment...

Plaintiffs filed suit to challenge the constitutionality of Mississippi’s campaign finance disclosure requirements as they apply to small groups and individuals intending to support or oppose state constitutional ballot measures.

On September 2, 2014, the Independence Institute filed suit challenging the constitutionality of Colorado’s “electioneering communication” disclosure provisions, which require a group spending over $1,000 on television, radio or print ads that mention the name of a state candidate within 60 days of...

In November 2008, the RNC brought a constitutional challenge to the “soft money” restrictions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) that bar the national parties from raising or spending soft money and prohibit state parties from using soft money for activities that affect federal elections...

In 2009, Vermont Right to Life Committee (VRLC) challenged Vermont’s campaign finance law's disclosure provisions and contribution limits as applied to VRLC's fund that allegedly makes only independent expenditures. The district court upheld the challenged disclosure provisions and contribution...

The Republican National Committee and donor Shaun McCutcheon brought suit to challenge the $74,600 aggregate limit on contributions to non-candidate committees and the $48,600 aggregate limit on contributions to candidate committees in a two-year election cycle. On April 2, 2014, the Supreme Court...

In March 2010, plaintiffs filed suit to challenge Montana’s corporate expenditure restriction, M.C.A. § 13-35-227, claiming that the ban was unconstitutional under Citizens United v. FEC. On June 25, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari and summarily reversed the Montana Supreme Court’s...

In 2009, Plaintiffs filed suit to prevent Washington State from making petitions connected to a state ballot measure publicly available under the state Public Records Act. Plaintiffs argued that the state records law was facially unconstitutional in connection to ballot measure petitions, and the...

In Valdes v. United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reviewed the conviction of a police officer under the federal gratuities statute accepting cash from an undercover FBI agent in exchange for searching law enforcement databases for information.  The D.C. Circuit, sitting en...

In February 2008, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) challenged a provision in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) that requires a lobbying coalition, such as NAM, to disclose any member organizations of the coalition that fund the coalition’s lobbying activities and...