Defending Free Speech in the Bluegrass State

On Friday, February 26, at 10:00 am, I will be in Federal District Court in Frankfurt, Kentucky, with co-counsel Jason Nemes arguing for equality and fairness in campaign finance law. Lopsided laws in Kentucky and five other states prohibit corporations—but not unions or other groups—from contributing to political parties, committees, or candidates. The Goldwater Institute’s client—right-to-work organization Protect My Check—is asking Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove to put an immediate stop to Kentucky’s lopsided ban on corporate political contributions.

The Goldwater Institute filed suit on June 18, 2015, to vindicate Protect My Check’s right to contribute to candidates on equal footing with labor unions. On December 4, 2015, the State defendants filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Protect My Check could not challenge the contribution ban unless it was already being prosecuted. Judge Van Tatenhove denied the State’s motion to dismiss last week and quickly set the case for a hearing to decide if Kentucky’s discriminatory speech ban should be stopped immediately.

For more about the issue and this case, click here.