FOR IMMEDIATERELEASE
June 25, 2008
Contact: Jeffrey Mazzella
703-535-5836
State’s Taxpayers Will Undoubtedly Foot the Bill
ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) today issued a strong warning to the West Virginia Legislature, which, during its special session, is currently working to further restrict speech and association rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“The warning is very simple,” said Jeffrey Mazzella, CFIF’s President. “If these politicians pass more self-serving, unconstitutional campaign finance laws designed to ensure their own re-elections, CFIF stands ready at the courthouse door.”
In March, CFIF filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, alleging that several provisions of the state’s campaign finance law were vague and overbroad, and thus violated the First Amendment. U.S. District Judge David Faber agreed, and issued an injunction against enforcement of certain provisions of the statute. That federal lawsuit was brought under the federal civil rights statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
In addition to vowing litigation, Mazzella warned of another consequence of the legislature’s reckless assault on the First Amendment.
“If passed, unconstitutional legislation could cost the state’s taxpayers a lot of money,” Mazzella said. “Since our lawsuit was brought under section 1983, the winning plaintiff will get legal fees, which will be significant.
“CFIF will not back down while the legislature willy nilly works to assault the First Amendment,” Mazzella concluded.
The Center for Individual Freedom is a constitutional and free-market advocacy organization with more than 250,000 supporters and activists nationwide. In addition to its West Virginia litigation, CFIF has won similar lawsuits in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and in Pennsylvania. In addition, CFIF was a plaintiff in the U.S. Supreme Court case McConnell v. FEC, which challenged the constitutionality of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, commonly referred to as "McCain-Feingold."