Court urged to act swiftly on campaign ads case
on Jan 15, 2007 at 3:29 pm
UPDATE, Tuesday afternoon: The cases discussed in this post have now been docketed as 06-969 (FEC’s appeal) and 06-970 (Sen. McCain, et al., appeal).
A private advocacy group in Wisconsin on Monday urged the Supreme Court to rule this Term on the right of groups like it to broadcast ads during election season that name federal candidates while discussing public issues. In a move to get the Court to embrace First Amendment protection for “grassroots lobbying” advertisements, Wisconsin Right to Life joined in urging the Court to hear two appeals on the issue — one by the Federal Election Commission, the other by a group of four members of Congress.
The Wisconsin group urged the Court to adopt a briefing schedule, proposed by the FEC, that would have the case ready for oral argument in April, permitting a decision before summer recess. If the Court agrees on Friday to grant jurisdiction in this dispute, the schedule would have all briefs in by April 18. The FEC suggested that oral argument be held on April 25 — the last scheduled argument day of the Term.
Wisconsin Right to Life’s reply to the appeals can be found here.
The group mounts a sturdy defense of what it calls ‘grassroots lobbying” ads or ads that seek to influence policy debates by urging their audience to contact lawmakers about pending legislative issues. It notes that a number of the congressional sponsors of attempts to limit election-season ads that skirt federal regulation said repeatedly that they had no intention of banning legitimate policy ads.
The Court should hear and decide the application of the electioneering ads issue, Wisconsin Right to Life contends, because such a ruling “would likely set out the critical factors for a broadcast ad to qualify for a grassroots lobbying exception so that the regulated public would know with some certainty the circumstances under which they may now use broadcast ads to lobby members of Congress about upcoming votes in Congress.”
