Posted August 14, 2007 by Paul S. Ryan

CLC Files Amici Brief in Judicial Public Financing Case

The Campaign Legal Center today filed an amici brief with the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Duke v. Leake (No. 07-1454) on behalf of itself and nine other organizations “concerned about the influence of money on judicial integrity, impartiality and independence.”

Duke v. Leake involves a constitutional challenge to several provisions of North Carolina’s judicial election public financing program, including the matching “rescue funds” provision, reporting requirements for nonparticipating candidates and independent spenders, and a 21-day pre-election contribution restriction.  The trial court dismissed the lawsuit and the plaintiffs appealed to the Fourth Circuit.

The CLC et al. amici brief supports Appellee State of North Carolina and Intervenors-Appellees Common Cause of North Carolina et al., urging the Fourth Circuit to affirm the trial court decision dismissing the lawsuit.  Amici detail a national trend of skyrocketing judicial campaign costs and the threat of actual and apparent corruption of judicial systems nationwide resulting from large campaign contributions to judicial candidates.  Amici argue that North Carolina’s judicial public financing system directly advances the state’s interest in deterring actual and apparent corruption while advancing the state’s interest in open and robust campaigns.

Joining the Legal Center as amici are: the American Judges Association; the Center for Civic Policy; Demos: A Network for Ideas and Action; the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform; the League of Women Voters of the United States; the League of Women Voters of North Carolina; Progressive Maryland; Public Citizen, Inc.; and the Reform Institute.