Source: http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/97/553/555571/
Timestamp: 2013-12-05 05:09:06
Document Index: 295827870

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 431', '§ 441', '§ 431', '§ 431', '§ 431', '§ 441']

97 F.3d 553: Ross Perot, Pat Choate, and Perot '96, Inc., Appellants, v. Federal Election Commission, and the Commission Onpresidential Debates, Appellees.dr. John Hagelin, Dr. Mike Tompkins, and the Natural Lawparty of the United States of America, Appellants, v. Federal Election Commission, and the Commission Onpresidential Debates, Appellees :: US Court of Appeals Cases :: Justia
Justia > US Law > US Case Law > US Federal Case Law > US Courts of Appeals Cases > F.3d > Volume 97 > 97 F.3d 553 - Ross Perot, Pat Choate, and Perot '96, Inc., ...	NEW - Receive Justia's FREE Daily Newsletters of Opinion Summaries for the US Supreme Court, all US Federal Appellate Courts & the 50 US State Supreme Courts and Weekly Practice Area Opinion Summaries Newsletters. Subscribe Now
97 F.3d 553: Ross Perot, Pat Choate, and Perot '96, Inc., Appellants, v. Federal Election Commission, and the Commission Onpresidential Debates, Appellees.dr. John Hagelin, Dr. Mike Tompkins, and the Natural Lawparty of the United States of America, Appellants, v. Federal Election Commission, and the Commission Onpresidential Debates, AppelleesUnited States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. - 97 F.3d 553
Argued Oct. 3, 1996.Decided Oct. 4, 1996.Issued Oct. 11, 1996.Rehearing Denied in No. 96-5288 Oct. 15, 1996
[321 U.S.App.D.C. 98] Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (Nos. 96cv2196 and 96cv2132).
Thomas O. Gorman, Washington, DC, argued the cause for appellants Ross Perot, et al., with whom Samuel W. Lanham, Jr., Bangor, ME, Jamin B. Raskin, and Thomas O. Sargentich, pro hac vice, and Robert E. Steinberg, Washington, DC, were on the briefs.
Thomas M. Newmark, St. Louis, MO, argued the cause (pro hac vice) for appellants Dr. Hagelin, et al., and was on the brief.
Richard B. Bader, Associate General Counsel, Washington, DC, argued the cause for appellee Federal Election Commission, with whom Lawrence M. Noble, General Counsel, was on the brief.
Lewis K. Loss, Attorney, Washington, DC, argued the cause for appellee Commission on Presidential Debates, with whom William H. Briggs, Jr., was on the brief.
Appellants in these consolidated appeals are Ross Perot and Pat Choate, the presidential and vice-presidential nominees of the Reform Party, and their campaign organization, Perot '96, Inc. (collectively "Perot"); and Dr. John Hagelin and Dr. Mike Tompkins, the nominees of the Natural Law Party of the United States, and their party (collectively "Dr. Hagelin"). They appeal from the denial of injunctive relief and the grant of summary judgment to the Federal Election Commission ("FEC") and the Commission on Presidential Debates ("CPD"). Appellants now raise only two contentions. Perot contends that the FEC has unlawfully delegated legislative authority to a private, non-profit corporation, in violation of Article I of the Constitution. Dr. Hagelin contends that the district court erred in granting summary judgment on the grounds that it lacked jurisdiction to enjoin a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 ("FECA"), 2 U.S.C. § 431 et seq. (1994), despite the inability of the FEC to address the violation prior to the 1996 presidential debates scheduled by the CPD to begin on October 6, 1996. Hence, we do not address the merits of appellants' other claims, presented to the district court, that they were wrongfully excluded from the debates. On the issues before this court, we find no merit in Perot's constitutional challenge or in Dr. Hagelin's contentions. As to the validity of the FEC regulation at the center of this controversy, we conclude that the grant of summary judgment sustaining it was premature. Accordingly, we affirm the denial of injunctive relief, vacate the grant of summary judgment relating to the claim that the regulation is inconsistent with the statute, and remand with instructions to dismiss the regulatory claim without prejudice.
The CPD is a private, non-profit corporation formed in 1987 for the purpose of sponsoring presidential debates. In prior years, that task had been performed by another non-profit entity, the League of Women Voters. Beginning with the 1988 presidential election, the CPD assumed that function. The members of the CPD include a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, a former chairman of the Republican [321 U.S.App.D.C. 99] National Committee, and other representatives of the Democratic and Republican parties. In connection with the 1996 presidential election, the CPD has scheduled a series of two presidential and one vice-presidential debates, with the first presidential debate scheduled to take place on October 6, 1996. The only candidates invited to participate are President William Jefferson Clinton and former Senator Robert J. Dole, the respective nominees of the Democratic and Republican Parties, and their vice-presidential running mates. The CPD, relying on its preannounced criteria, and the recommendation of an advisory committee consisting primarily of political scientists, based its decision to exclude other candidates on the grounds that no other candidates have a "realistic chance of winning" the 1996 election.
To understand the nature of appellants' claims, we set forth the underlying statutory and regulatory framework. The FECA prohibits "any corporation" from making "a contribution or expenditure in connection with" any federal election. 2 U.S.C. § 441b(a). Both a "contribution" and an "expenditure" are defined to include, inter alia, any advance of "anything of value ... for the purpose of influencing any election for Federal office." Id. § 431(8)(A)(I); id. § 431(9)(A)(I). An "expenditure" does not, however, include "nonpartisan activity designed to encourage individuals to vote or to register to vote." Id. § 431(9)(B)(ii).
As early as 1976, the FEC recognized that § 441b could be construed to bar the use of corporate funds to stage debates. See 44 Fed.Reg. 59,1