Citizens for Respon. Gov. State Polit. v. Buckley
| Decision Date | 10 August 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. Civ.A. 96-S-2973.,No. Civ.A. 96-S-2844.,No. Civ.A. 97-S-221.,Civ.A. 96-S-2844.,Civ.A. 96-S-2973.,Civ.A. 97-S-221. |
| Parties | CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT STATE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE, Plaintiffs, v. Victoria BUCKLEY, Secretary of State of the State of Colorado,<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL> Defendant. Steve Durham; Phil Panckey; and The Colorado State Republican Central Committee, Plaintiffs, v. Victoria Buckley, as Secretary of State of the State of Colorado, Defendant. Colorado Republicans for Choice, Inc., an unincorporated Colorado political committee; Crown Point Communications, Inc., a Colorado corporation; Dorothy S. Wham; William Thiebaut, Jr.; Donna Mullins Good; and CEA EDPAC, a Colorado nonprofit corporation, Plaintiffs, v. Victoria Buckley, Secretary of State of the State of Colorado, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Colorado |
James P. Rouse, Denver, CO, James Bopp, Terre Haute, IN, for Plaintiffs.
Elizabeth A. Weishaupl, Robert Hill, Denver, CO, for Defendant.
THIS MATTER came before the court for trial. Plaintiffs challenge several sections of the Fair Campaign Practices Act ("FCPA"), Colo.Rev.Stat. §§ 1-45-101 et seq., as violating their rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution by infringing on protected political speech and association and by denying them equal protection of the law.2 The FCPA was a ballot initiative adopted by the voters of Colorado at the November 5, 1996 general election and made effective by proclamation of Governor Romer on January 15, 1997. As Secretary of State for the State of Colorado, Defendant is obligated to implement and enforce the provisions of the FCPA. Plaintiffs ask the court to declare that certain provisions of the FCPA are unconstitutional and a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, to enjoin Defendant from enforcing such provisions, and to award appropriate attorney fees. The court, having reviewed the entire case file, the evidentiary record, the legal arguments, and the applicable law, is sufficiently advised in the premises and renders its ruling.
When a statute is challenged facially, it purportedly is "invalid in toto — and therefore incapable of any valid application." Steffel v. Thompson, 415 U.S. 452, 474, 94 S.Ct. 1209, 39 L.Ed.2d 505 (1974). A statute is facially unconstitutional only when it cannot validly be applied to any conduct. An "as applied" challenge, however, asserts that the statute is unconstitutional as applied to a particular plaintiff's speech activity, even though the statute may be valid as applied to other parties. An "as applied" challenge is subject to a case-by-case analysis to determine whether the statute as applied to the facts of the case abridges the First Amendment. City of Lakewood v. Plain Dealer Pub. Co., 486 U.S. 750, 759, 108 S.Ct. 2138, 100 L.Ed.2d 771 (1988).
When a statute is attacked on both facial and "as applied" grounds, the latter must be considered first, unless First Amendment issues are at stake. Digioia v. Senkowski, 837 F.Supp. 492, 495 (N.D.N.Y.1993). Here, although Plaintiffs purport to challenge the FCPA both facially and "as applied," the issues and the evidence are not limited to the statute's application to a particular plaintiff's speech activity. The evidence at trial focused on whether the FCPA is facially unconstitutional, not whether the statute is unconstitutional only as applied to particular Plaintiffs. Accordingly, the court concludes that Plaintiffs' purported "as applied" challenge to the FCPA is merged into Plaintiffs' facial challenge to the statute.
In addressing Plaintiffs' challenge to the FCPA, the court begins its review "with the venerable presumption" that legislative acts are constitutional. Villanueva v. Carere, 85 F.3d 481, 487 (10th Cir.1996); see also National R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Ry. Co., 470 U.S. 451, 472, 105 S.Ct. 1441, 84 L.Ed.2d 432 (1985). Plaintiffs, as the parties attacking the constitutionality of the FCPA, must show beyond a reasonable doubt that it is unconstitutional. Villanueva v. Carere, 873 F.Supp. 434, 447 (D.Colo.1994), aff'd, 85 F.3d 481. Plaintiffs face a "heavy burden" to show that the statute can never be applied constitutionally. Rust v. Sullivan, 500 U.S. 173, 183, 111 S.Ct. 1759, 114 L.Ed.2d 233 (1991). If Defendant presents a fairly possible construction of the FCPA that would result in its being constitutional, the court must accept that construction and reject any construction offered by Plaintiffs that results in unconstitutionality. Communications Workers of America v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735, 762, 108 S.Ct. 2641, 101 L.Ed.2d 634 (1988).
Plaintiffs challenge a series of specific sections of the FCPA. The court will address the challenged sections in turn. First, certain fundamental principles guide the court's inquiry regarding each challenged section.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech...." U.S. Const. amend. I. The freedom of speech provided under the First Amendment is a broad, but not absolute freedom. "[S]tates have the power to regulate their elections and access to their ballots." American Constitutional Law Foundation, Inc. v. Meyer, 120 F.3d 1092, 1097 (10th Cir.1997), aff'd 525 U.S. 182, 119 S.Ct. 636, 142 L.Ed.2d 599 (1999). "[A]s a practical matter, there must be a substantial regulation of elections if they are to be fair and honest and if some sort of order, rather than chaos, is to accompany the democratic process." Storer v. Brown, 415 U.S. 724, 730, 94 S.Ct. 1274, 39 L.Ed.2d 714 (1974). "Common sense, as well as constitutional law, compels the conclusion that government must play an active role in structuring elections." Burdick v. Takushi, 504 U.S. 428, 433, 112 S.Ct. 2059, 119 L.Ed.2d 245 (1992). The Supreme Court has upheld "generally-applicable and evenhanded restrictions that protect the integrity of the electoral process itself." Anderson v. Celebrezze, 460 U.S. 780, 788 n. 9, 103 S.Ct. 1564, 75 L.Ed.2d 547 (1983). A state's broad power to regulate elections, however, "does not extinguish the State's responsibility to observe the limits established by the First Amendment rights of the State's citizens." Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut, 479 U.S. 208, 217, 107 S.Ct. 544, 93 L.Ed.2d 514 (1986).
The rigorousness of this court's constitutional inquiry depends upon the extent to which the challenged law burdens Plaintiffs' First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
When considering the constitutionality of a state election regulation that restricts core political speech or imposes "severe burdens" on speech or association, we have generally required that the law be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest. But if the law imposes "lesser burdens," we have said that the State's important regulatory interests are generally sufficient to justify reasonable, nondiscriminatory restrictions....
To assess the constitutionality of a state election law, we first examine whether it burdens rights protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments ... If the challenged law burdens the rights of political parties and their members, it can survive constitutional scrutiny only if the State shows that it advances a compelling state interest, ... and is narrowly tailored to serve that interest....
When deciding whether a state election law violates First and Fourteenth Amendment associational rights, this Court must weigh the character and magnitude of the burden the State's rule imposes on those rights against the interests the State contends justify that burden, and consider the extent to which the State's concerns make the burden necessary. Regulations imposing severe burdens must be narrowly tailored and advance a compelling state interest. Lesser burdens, however, trigger less exacting review, and a State's important regulatory interests will usually be enough to justify reasonable, nondiscriminatory restrictions.
In order to challenge the FCPA on First Amendment grounds, Plaintiffs must first demonstrate that the statute impinges on rights protected by the First Amendment. California Prolife Council Political Action Committee v. Scully, 989 F.Supp. 1282, 1292 (E.D.Cal.1998), aff'd, 164 F.3d 1189 (9th Cir.1999). There is no question now that "[t]he First Amendment protects political association as well as political expression." Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 15, 96 S.Ct. 612, 46 L.Ed.2d 659 (1976). It appears established that "contribution and expenditure limitations operate in an area of the most fundamental First Amendment activities." Buckley, 424 U.S. at 14, 96 S.Ct. 612.
"Any judicial consideration of the constitutionality of campaign finance reform legislation must begin and usually end with the comprehensive decision in Buckley." Kruse v. City of Cincinnati, 142 F.3d 907, 911 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 119 S.Ct. 511, 142 L.Ed.2d 424 (1998). While the Supreme Court found that the Federal Election Campaign Act's expenditure limits imposed "significantly more severe restrictions on protected freedoms of political expression and association" than did its limitations on financial contributions, the Court also determined that "contribution and expenditure limitations both implicate fundamental First Amendment interests." Buckley, 424 U.S. at 23, 96 S.Ct. 612.
Given the important role of...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Landell v. Sorrell
...2309. Lower courts have upheld state limits on contributions to political parties as well. In Citizens for Responsible Government State PAC v. Buckley, 60 F.Supp.2d 1066, 1094-1096 (D.Colo.1999), the court upheld an annual limit of $2,500 on individual contributions to political parties in ......
-
Common Sense Alliance v. Davidson
...the language of the measure will not govern the court's construction of the amendment."); Citizens for Responsible Gov't State Political Action Comm. v. Buckley, 60 F.Supp.2d 1066, 1082 (D.Colo.1999) ("The court is `not free to fine tune the limits established' by the Indeed, we conclude th......
-
Citizens for Resposible Govern. V. Davidson, Nos. 99-1414
...contained in Colo. Rev. Stat. 106(2). (Court's Order dated February 5, 1998).5 Citizens for Responsible Gov't State Political Action Comm. v. Buckley, 60 F. Supp. 2d 1066, 1073 n.2 (1999) ["CRGS-PAC v. Buckley"]. In their brief to this court, the Durham Plaintiffs suggest that the 106(1) cl......
-
Daggett, et al. v. Comm'n on Gov't Ethics, s. 99-2243
...that an as-applied challenge would meet in the future, that door remains open. See Citizens for Responsible Gov't State Political Action Comm. v. Buckley, 60 F. Supp. 2d 1066, 1073 (D. Colo. 1999) ("An 'as applied' challenge . . . asserts that the statute is unconstitutional as applied to a......