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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

 

 ) 

JOHN DOE 1, et al., ) 

 ) 

 Plaintiffs, ) Civ. No. 17-2694 (ABJ) 

 ) 

 v. ) 

 ) RESPONSE TO MOTION 

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION, ) FOR STAY OR INJUNCTION 

 ) PENDING APPEAL 

 Defendant. ) 

 ) 

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION’S RESPONSE 

TO PLAINTIFFS’ EMERGENCY MOTION 

FOR A STAY OR INJUNCTION PENDING APPEAL

On March 23, 2018, this Court denied plaintiffs’ request to permanently enjoin the 

Federal Election Commission’s (“FEC” or “Commission”) disclosure of plaintiffs’ identities as 

part of its regular release of the public file in Matter Under Review 6920 in accordance with 

Commission regulations and disclosure policy, and it entered final judgment in favor of the 

Commission. Doe v. FEC, Civ. No. 17-2694 (ABJ), --- F. Supp. 3d ---, 2018 WL 1461964 

(D.D.C. Mar. 23, 2018); Final Order and Judgment (Docket No. 46). That same day, plaintiffs 

moved for a stay or an injunction pending appeal, seeking to enjoin the Commission from 

releasing plaintiffs’ identities until resolution of their appeal. (Pls.’ Emergency Mot. for a Stay 

or Injunction Pending Appeal (Docket No. 48).) Plaintiffs’ motion was filed before the parties 

had an opportunity to confer on the motion. (Id. at 2.) 

Since then, the parties have conferred on multiple occasions in an attempt to narrow areas 

of disagreement. The parties disagree regarding the strength of plaintiffs’ showing regarding the 

four factors the Court considers when exercising its discretion in determining whether to issue a 

stay. Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 425-26 (2009). The parties do agree that release of 

Case 1:17-cv-02694-ABJ Document 50 Filed 04/06/18 Page 1 of 3
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plaintiffs’ identities would moot their right to appeal. At the same time, the Commission is 

harmed by further delay given, inter alia, public interest in the relevant enforcement file which 

relates to the financing of elections and disputes involving many of the same legal issues that 

may need to be resolved in other contexts. The parties have thus agreed that the Commission 

will consent to entry of the attached proposed order entering a stay in return for plaintiffs 

consenting to expedited consideration of their appeal. See Charles v. Office of the Armed Forces 

Med. Exam’r, No. 1:09-CV-0199, 2013 WL 12332949, at *2 (D.D.C. May 9, 2013) (finding 

“harm” to party from “further delay” “outweighed” by possibility of “disclosure without an 

opportunity to appeal” and granting stay conditioned upon seeking expedited appeal); Ctr. for 

Int’l Envtl. Law v. Office of the U.S. Trade Rep., 240 F. Supp. 2d 21, 24 (D.D.C. 2003) (granting 

stay pending appeal, subject to the condition of seeking expedited appellate review); Ctr. for 

Nat’l Sec. Studies v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 217 F. Supp. 2d 58, 59 (D.D.C. 2002) (granting stay 

pending appeal due to, inter alia, a promise to seek expedited consideration of the appeal). More 

specifically, plaintiffs will (a) file their notice of appeal by April 11, 2018, (b) consent to the 

FEC’s anticipated motion in the D.C. Circuit requesting expedited consideration of plaintiffs’ 

appeal and to the agreed-upon briefing schedule proposed therein, and (c) continue to take all 

necessary steps to obtain an appeal determination expeditiously. Though the briefing schedule in 

the Court of Appeals will be presented to that court, under the Commission’s anticipated consent 

motion, appellants’ brief shall be due May 14, 2018; any amicus briefs in support of appellants 

shall be due May 17, 2018; appellee’s brief shall be due June 18, 2018; any amicus briefs in 

support of appellees shall be due June 21, 2018; and appellants’ reply brief shall be due 

July 2, 2018. 

Case 1:17-cv-02694-ABJ Document 50 Filed 04/06/18 Page 2 of 3
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A proposed order reflecting a negotiated resolution related to the relief plaintiffs seek in 

their motion for stay or injunction pending appeal is attached for the Court’s consideration. 

 Respectfully submitted, 

Lisa J. Stevenson (D.C. Bar No. 457628) 

Acting General Counsel 

lstevenson@fec.gov 

Kevin Deeley 

Associate General Counsel 

kdeeley@fec.gov 

Charles Kitcher (D.C. Bar No. 986226) 

Acting Assistant General Counsel 

ckitcher@fec.gov 

/s/ Haven G. Ward________ 

Haven G. Ward (D.C. Bar. No. 976090) 

Attorney 

hward@fec.gov 

COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT 

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 

1050 First Street NE 

Washington, DC 20463 

(202) 694-1650 

April 6, 2018 

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