Plaintiff filed a lawsuit alleging that Indiana state campaign-finance restrictions violated the First Amendment. In an initial appeal, the Seventh Circuit certified a statutory interpretation question to the Indiana Supreme Court, which issued a decision interpreting the relevant statutory code as prohibiting corporate contributions to political action committees earmarked for independent campaign-related expenditures. With that question answered, the Seventh Circuit then considered how to resolve the appeal with both parties agreeing that enforcement of the relevant provisions of the state election code would violate the First Amendment under Citizens United. The plaintiffs argued that the appellate court should issue an order as well as a preliminary injunction. The defendants urged the court to instead dismiss the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Seventh Circuit rejected the defendants’ jurisdictional challenge and instead vacated the district court’s order and remanded with instructions to enter a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of Indiana’s campaign-finance restrictions against the plaintiffs. (EASTERBROOK and LEE, concurring)
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
First Amendment