Thalheimer Case Concludes, Creating Good 9th Circuit Precedent

The time to appeal has passed in the litigation over challenges to a number of City of San Diego campaign finance laws. [Disclosure: I am one of the lawyers for the City of San Diego.]  The case went to the Ninth Circuit at the preliminary injunction stage but there was no appeal after the district court decided the cross-motions for summary judgment.

Among other things, the Ninth Circuit held at the preliminary injunction stage that a ban on non-human (e.g, corporate or union) direct contributions to candidates does not violate the First Amendment.  The court also held that a temporal limitation on campaign contributions—no contributions more than a year before an election–is constitutional, a decision the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed in Family PAC v. McKenna.

I am very proud to have worked on this case with Dick Semerdjian and John Schena of Schwartz Semerdjian Ballard and Cauley.

 

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