Election Law

Would-Be AG Drops Motion to Seal Depo in Which She Discusses Why She Is Qualified for Office

Seeking to force the state Democratic Party to acknowledge that she is qualified for run for office as Connecticut attorney general, secretary of state Susan Bysiewicz sued and, beginning last week, was in a deposition discussing her legal experience. But the deposition apparently didn’t go well, as evidenced by the…

Apr 6, 2010 7:28 PM CDT

Two Decisions Highlight Campaign Finance Uncertainty, More ‘Freewheeling’ System

Two court decisions on Friday tried to sort out the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s January campaign finance ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The new rulings dealt with the constitutionality of laws that restrict the size of contributions to groups supporting political candidates. The New York…

Mar 29, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

W. Va. Lawmakers Approve Public Funding of Supreme Court Elections

West Virginia is set to become the fourth state to publicly finance elections to the state supreme court. The legislature approved the financing pilot program proposed by Gov. Joe Manchin in a final vote this weekend, according to the Charleston Gazette and a press release by the Justice at Stake…

Mar 16, 2010 1:30 PM CDT

W. Va. Senate Committee Backs Publicly Funded Judicial Elections

The West Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee has endorsed a bill that would publicly finance elections of state supreme court justices. Last week, the state House of Delegates approved pilot program propsed by Gov. Joe Manchin that would finance the two contested seats in the 2012 supreme court race. Candidates would…

Mar 9, 2010 12:09 AM CST

Most Americans Oppose Supreme Court Campaign Finance Ruling

Eighty percent of Americans polled oppose the U.S. Supreme Court’s Jan. 21 ruling that found corporations have a First Amendment right to expressly support political candidates. The Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 85 percent of Democrats and 76 percent of Republicans opposed the ruling in Citizens United v. Federal…

Feb 17, 2010 1:31 PM CST

Reagan Era Influenced Supreme Court Vote in Citizens United Campaign-Finance Case

A landmark campaign-finance decision by the U.S. Supreme Court last month striking corporate spending limits as an unconstitutional restriction of companies’ free speech reflects the influence of the Reagan era, writes David Savage in a Los Angeles Times analysis of the decision. All five of the justices who voted to…

Feb 10, 2010 12:56 AM CST

Colo. Governor Wants State Supreme Court to Address Campaign Finance Law

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter announced plans to take a dispute over campaign finance laws directly to the state supreme court today. Ritter’s chief legal counsel, Trey Rogers, told the Associated Press that the governor is asking the court to determine if state campaign finance laws are unconstitutional in light of…

Feb 9, 2010 7:08 PM CST

Candidates in Faraway States Get Donations from Shareholder Litigation Firms

Twenty-five leading law firms that represent plaintiffs in shareholder litigation apparently have an interest in politics, even when the races aren’t local. The law firms, their lawyers and their family members have contributed more than $21 million in the past decade to state-level candidates and party funds, the Wall Street…

Feb 3, 2010 4:28 PM CST

In Overturning Precedent, Roberts Court ‘Has Lost Its Virginity’

Does the U.S. Supreme Court need a cold shower? A legal journalist apparently thinks so. Linda Greenhouse, the former Supreme Court reporter for the New York Times, says the U.S. Supreme Court “lost its virginity” when it overturned campaign finance precedent in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. “There was…

Jan 29, 2010 3:00 PM CST

Peeved Judge’s Lawsuit Stalls Judicial Selection Process in South Carolina

A family court judge who was deemed unqualified by South Carolina’s Judicial Merit Selection Commission has filed a lawsuit challenging legislators’ control of the screening body. The South Carolina Supreme Court will hear the case as a matter of original jurisdiction, the Charleston Post and Courier reports. The commission vice…

Jan 27, 2010 3:09 PM CST

O’Connor: Ruling Could Portend ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’ in Judge Races

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor says last week’s ruling striking down restrictions on corporate campaign spending will likely affect judicial elections as corporate and union money flows into the races. Speaking Tuesday at a judicial selection conference at Georgetown University Law Center, O’Connor said the Supreme Court decision…

Jan 27, 2010 1:22 PM CST

Which Lawyer Won Citizens United? Stories Differ on Perspective

Which lawyer should get the credit for last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision finding that corporations have a First Amendment right to spend money on campaign ads on behalf of political candidates? Was it James Bopp, the lawyer who took Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission through appeals and to…

Jan 25, 2010 1:16 PM CST

Swayed Judicial Races and Pushy Lobbyists: Analysis of Citizens United

News stories are predicting of flood of corporate campaign spending and an edge for lobbyists after yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down restrictions on corporate electioneering. The 5-4 ruling, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, strikes down restrictions that had barred corporations from spending money from their general treasuries…

Jan 22, 2010 2:45 PM CST

High Court Decision a ‘Seismic Jolt’ and Possible Sign of New Boldness

Yesterday’s decision striking down a ban on corporate campaign expenditures on behalf of political candidates could indicate the Supreme Court is now willing to act more boldly in striking down precedent. The 5-4 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission struck down restrictions that had barred corporations from spending…

Jan 22, 2010 12:59 PM CST

5-4 Citizens United Ruling ‘a Revolution in Campaign Finance Law’

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that corporations have a First Amendment right to expressly support political candidates for Congress and the White House. The 5-4 ruling strikes down restrictions that had barred corporations from spending money from their general treasuries on campaign ads in the days before an election.…

Jan 21, 2010 3:00 PM CST