This is the Daily Media Update published by the Institute for Free Speech. For press inquiries, please contact [email protected].  

Reason (Volokh Conspiracy): S. Ct. Calls for Response in NRA v. Vullo

.....This is the case I wrote about in March, and again last week, when I noted the amicus briefs from state attorneys general, from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and from two financial and business law scholars. I also noted last week that the New York state government defendants didn't file a response to the petition.

Today, the Supreme Court called for a response; this doesn't guarantee that the Court will agree to hear the case, but it does suggest some interest on the part of at least one Justice. It also gives an extra 30 days for any other people or groups to file amicus briefs in support of the petition: "An amicus curiae brief submitted in support of a petitioner … before the Court's consideration of a petition for a writ of certiorari" may be "filed within 30 days after … a response is called for by the Court." It will be interesting to see whether any other amicus briefs come in. And it will of course also be interesting to see what the state argues in opposing the petition, and whether there will be amicus briefs filed in support of the state.

[Ed. note: Read Barnaby Zall's recent post about NRA v. Vullo here.]

SCOTUSblog: Justices add two cases on liability of officials who block critics on social media

.....The Supreme Court on Monday morning agreed to weigh in on a question arising out of the widespread use of social media – specifically, whether public officials are acting as government officials, and therefore can violate the First Amendment, when they block people on their personal social media accounts that they use to communicate with the public. The announcement came as part of a list of orders released from the justices’ private conference last week...

Chicago Tribune: Ronald Collins and Ronnie Marmo: Comedy clubs as free speech zones — and the antidote to cancel culture

By Ronald Collins and Ronnie Marmo

.....On Nov. 24, 1964, the Illinois Supreme Court did what no other state high court had ever done — it vindicated Lenny Bruce’s free speech right to perform provocative routines in comedy clubs. But the freewheeling comedian was not so lucky in New York; a state court thereafter convicted him of obscenity for his comedic bits. It was just one of such prosecutions, the others being in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The New York conviction stood since Bruce died before he could appeal.

ABA Journal: The ABA needs ideological diversity to ensure its future

.....A generation ago, nearly half of the lawyers in the United States were members of the American Bar Association. Today, that number is probably closer to 20%, if not lower. This decline is often attributed to an unwillingness of young attorneys to join civic organizations. Or perhaps lawyers no longer see tangible benefits from membership. Or maybe the dues are too high. All of these explanations ignore the elephant in the room—and I mean elephant in the figurative and political sense. The American Bar Association consistently skews to the political left. And this progressive mandate alienates conservative lawyers.

To be sure, claims of political bias against the ABA are not new. Personally, as a member, I have lodged such complaints. In recent years, however, these problems have manifested beyond complaints from the rank and file. There is a growing disconnect between the ABA and the states. There was a time when the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct were the gold standard. But ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) has proved to be a lightning rod of controversy. On its face, this rule was designed to eliminate bias in the legal profession. But many scholars (present company included) contended that it creates a speech code for attorneys.

Daily Caller: Suzanne Downing: This Democrat Donor Scheme Stinks To High Heaven

.....Love him or hate him, O’Keefe is onto something: The ActBlue fundraising platform may scrape names from a single or several donations people make and then attribute other, continuous donations to them. 

O’Keefe’s investigation was replicated by private investigator Kyle Corrigan of Brightline Investigations in Wisconsin. He interviewed a gentleman who had no clue he had been credited with 11,000 donations over seven years by ActBlue. He said he may have donated once a month, but that was it.

New York Times: The Obscure G.O.P. Bookkeeper at the Center of the George Santos Mess

By Grace Ashford and Nicholas Fandos

.....Now, as federal and local prosecutors examine the web of deceit Mr. Santos spun on his way to winning a closely contested House seat last November, they appear to be focused on a trail of financial dealings that suggests possible campaign finance violations or outright fraud. Campaign filings listed donations that exceeded the legal limit, hundreds of thousands of dollars in unexplained spending and a strange string of expenses for $199.99 — just pennies below the threshold beyond which receipts are required.

Colorado Sun: Influential conservative dark-money group doesn’t have to reveal donors, face campaign finance sanctions, Denver judge rules

.....An influential, conservative dark-money political group doesn’t have to reveal its donors and pay a $40,000 campaign finance fine levied by state elections officials stemming from the $4 million it spent on 2020 ballot initiatives, a Denver District Court judge ruled Friday.

Oregon Live: Oregon Democrats weigh competing proposals to cap political donations

.....New proposals introduced in the state Senate last week would set strict limits to quell the exorbitant spending in Oregon elections — without the same loopholes included in other bills introduced by top Democrats this session.

Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, introduced two amendments to Senate Bill 500 mirroring 2024 ballot initiatives penned by Honest Elections Oregon and the League of Women Voters. Those groups seek stringent limits on political donations and transparency in political advertising. The amendments aren’t yet published on the Legislature website…

Kotek’s plan, House Bill 3455, would allow individuals, corporations, unions and other entities to donate up to $1,000 per primary or general election cycle to candidates for state offices, such as governor or labor commissioner, and up to $500 to candidates for the Legislature. Rayfield has introduced a separate proposal, House Bill 2003, that would limit contributions to $3,000 for a candidate for state office, $2,000 for a state Senate candidate and $1,500 for a state House candidate.

Tampa Bay Times: Blogger must say if he was paid to publish posts about candidate, judge rules

.....A Central Florida blogger and Proud Boys associate will have to produce a bevy of records, including evidence of any payment he received during the 2022 campaign from a number of top GOP operatives, including a consultant tied to the 2020 “ghost” candidate scandal, a judge ruled Friday.

Buffalo News: Election financing overhaul at stake in Albany budget talks

.....Before state budget negotiations conclude, lawmakers must decide whether to fund a program that would dramatically change how their re-election campaigns are financed.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed including $14.5 million in the budget for the Public Campaign Finance Board, the new state entity overseeing the program, and a $25 million pool of money that would be an installment into the matching funds program. (The $25 million was far less than the $100 million requested by the new board.)...

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