Breaking News: Rehearing En Banc Denied in Ninth Circuit San Diego Thalheimer Case

Big news from the Ninth Circuit.  The full court has denied rehearing en banc in this campaign finance case.  According to the order, no active judge on the court requested a vote in the case.  Among other things, the panel opinion held 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 likely constitutional.  [Disclosure: I am one of the attorneys for the City of San Diego.]

The district court in the Danielczyk case held that the federal corporate contribution ban was unconstitutional, a case now on appeal to the Fourth Circuit. The Eighth Circuit in the Swanson case held that a similar Minnesota ban was constitutional, but this case in now up for en banc consideration.

We will wait to see if Jim Bopp files a petition for cert. in this case.

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