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Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to take the case of Center for Competitive Politics v. Harris. This case is an important one that will help determine the degree to which the First Amendment protects freedom of association, and the degree to which state governments can demand production of a non-profit’s donor list. Groups from the right, left and middle have filed amicus briefs in support of the petition.
In this case, Kamala Harris, the Attorney General of California, is requiring the Center for Competitive Politics, a 501(c)(3) public interest organization that engages in free speech advocacy and no political advocacy, to surrender an unredacted copy of its donor list to her office for the privilege of being allowed to solicit citizens of California for charitable donations.
CCP sought a preliminary injunction, and was denied by the District Court. The denial of the injunction was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit. CCP is maintaining a website about the case, including copies of all of the court filings here: http://www.campaignfreedom.org/litigation/current-litigation/ccp-v-harris/
If the Supreme Court decides to hear the case, it will be the first case in some time where the Court wrestles with the issue of disclosure of member and donors lists outside of the campaign finance context essentially since NAACP v. Alabama, 357 U.S. 449, 460 (1958).
