Posted September 27, 2006 by Paul S. Ryan

Court Dismisses BCRA Challenge by Christian Civic League of Maine

A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today upheld the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act’s (BCRA) “electioneering communication” provisions against a constitutional challenge by the Christian Civic League of Maine (CCLM), ruling in favor of the defendant Federal Election Commission and defendant-intervenors Senators McCain and Feingold, and Congressmen Shays, Meehan and Allen in Christian Civic League of Maine v. FEC.

BCRA’s “electioneering communication” provisions prohibit corporations and labor unions from using general treasury funds to pay for broadcast ads clearly identifying federal candidates within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election.  The CCLM argued that the “electioneering communication” provisions are unconstitutional as applied to an ad entitled “Crossroads” that CCLM wanted to air last spring.  The “Crossroads” ad clearly identified Senator Snowe, who was a candidate in the June 13 primary.  The CCLM claimed that it was entitled to a “grassroots lobbying” exemption not only for the “Crossroads” ad, but also for future unspecified so-called “grassroots lobbying” ads.

The court rejected CCLM’s claims, holding that its claim regarding the “Crossroads” ad is moot and not saved by the “capable of repetition, yet evading review” exception to the mootness doctrine; and that its claim regarding future unspecified ads is “too speculative and hypothetical to be justiciable”—noting that CCLM’s executive director testified under oath that the organization had no current plans to run ads other than its “Crossroads” ad.

Earlier this year, the same three-judge court had denied the CCLM's request for a preliminary injunction, emphasizing that the CCLM plaintiffs could run their broadcast ad using PAC funds or even using general treasury funds if they simply removed the specific reference to Senator Snowe.

The Legal Center is part of the legal team representing defendant-intervenors Senators McCain and Feingold, and Congressmen Shays, Meehan and Allen.  Other members of the legal team include Democracy 21, University of Virginia law professor Dan Ortiz , and attorneys at the law firms: Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr; Heller Ehrman; and Munger Tolles and Olson.