William P. Danielczyk Jr. and Eugene R. Biagi v. United States
U.S. Supreme Court
(opposing the ban on corporate campaign contributions in federal elections)

admin Election Law and Campaign Finance

Danielczyk and Biagi were convicted of violating the ban on corporate campaign contributions. CLDEF filed an amicus curiae brief in support of their petition for certiorari seeking review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The CLDEF brief argued that the petition should be granted because the court below failed to apply the categorical First Amendment right of corporate entities to engage in political speech established by the U.S. Constitution and reaffirmed in Citizens United v. FEC.

Further, the questions presented should have been extended to include whether campaign finance restrictions on speech and press should ever be permitted based on overriding governmental interests.

Finally, our brief argued that the various standards of review which enable the government to override the speech and press guarantees of the First Amendment are illegitimate encroachments upon the sovereign power of the people to constitute and, when necessary, reconstitute their government.  Our brief urged the Supreme Court to cut completely the Gordian Knot by which constitutional rights have been sacrificed based on atextual judicial balancing tests.

The Supreme Court denied the defendants’ petition for certiorari and refused to review the convictions.

CLDEF Amicus Curiae Brief in Support of Petition for Certiorari (December 10, 2012)

SCOTUSblog Case Page