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Published today in the National Review
A Victory for Free Speech
By Stephen M. Hoersting, Counsel at DB Capitol Strategies
Excerpted below, CLICK HERE for the full article
"Today the Supreme Court of the United States summarily reversed an opinion of the Montana Supreme Court allowing Montana's legislature to ban political expenditures paid for by corporations.
. . .
The authority the Court points to is that little provision in Article Six saying, "This Constitution . . . shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby."
. . .
[C]ommunications made independent of candidates and political-party committees pose no threat of corruption as a matter of law, not case-by-case adjudication.
. . .
The states are not free to create legislative records to ban independent political expenditures by corporations.
. . .
[H]ow did this case get even this far? The Montana court should have known better. The answer likely lies in a theory held by modern-day progressives that the high court will be constrained in its rulings by the pressures of mainstream national opinion."
For the full article, CLICK HERE to visit the National Review
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 DB Capitol Strategies & Dan Backer, esq.
DB Capitol Strategies offers campaign finance & political law advisory to PACs, campaigns and candidates.
Our principal attorney, Dan Backer, is at the cutting edge of defending Free Speech and Association before the FEC. Most recently, Dan was lead counsel in the ground-breaking Carey v FEC case, which paved the way for Hybrid PACs by winning the right of any non-connected PAC to operate a "Carey Account" - in essence becoming SuperPACs.
Dan previously served as a legal policy analyst and subject matter expert in military and overseas voting for the Department of Defenses' Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP)
Dan earned his J.D. at George Mason University School of Law, a PAC Mgmt. Masters Certificate from George Washington, and a B.A. in Political Science from the Univ. of Massachusetts at Amherst. In 2009, Dan earned the American League of Lobbyists Professional Lobbying Certification (PLC). |
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 Former NRSC
General Counsel
Stephen M. Hoersting* brings campaign & litigation leadership to DB Capitol Strategies
The rapidly changing campaign finance laws are already the dominant theme of 2012's "most-expensive-yet" election. DB Capitol Strategies is pleased to have Stephen Hoersting, an innovator at the cutting edge of campaign finance law, join our firm. Steve brings tremendous experience advising campaigns and advancing free-speech for political organizations to our team.
Steve co-founded the Center for Competitive Politics (2005 to 2011) where he devised speech-protective projects, including co-counsel on SpeechNow.org v. FEC and Carey v FEC. Steve served as general counsel to the National Republican Senatorial Committee under then-chairman Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) from 2003 to 2005, where he advised 51 Senate offices and 34 campaigns in the first election under McCain-Feingold to help win seven of eight open seat races for U.S. Senator.
Steve also served as chief counsel to a vice chairman of the Federal Election Commission from 2000 to 2003, was a pre-publication commenter on John Samples' The Fallacy of Campaign Finance Reform, University of Chicago Press (2006) and a commentator and research assistant for Bradley A. Smith's Unfree Speech, Princeton Univ. Press (2001). He has published on campaign finance issues for the Cato Institute, the Election Law Journal, The Washington Times, Roll Call, The Weekly Standard and National Review Online; appeared on C-SPAN's Washington Journal, CNBC's Street Signs and offered expert testimony on Capitol Hill.
Steve earned his J.D. from Capital University Law School, cum laude, in 1996, and a B.A. in economics from The Ohio State University in 1990. He is an alumnus of the Institute for Humane Studies and served as The Federalist Society's Publications Chairman for its Free Speech and Election Law Practice Group.
Connect with Steve at SHoersting@DBCapitolStrategies.com
*This attorney is only licensed to practice in Ohio
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This information is not intended as legal advice, which turns on specific facts. Seek specific legal advice before acting with regard to the subjects mentioned herein. For more information, visit our website at www.DBCapitolStrategies.com. �2012 DB Capitol Strategies PLLC, All rights reserved.
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