1
09-0599-cv(L), 09-0609-cv(CON)
Green Party of Connecticut v. Garfield
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
August Term 2009
(Argued January 13, 2010
Decided July 13, 2010)
Docket Nos. 09-0599-cv(L), 09-0609-cv(CON)
G
REEN
P
ARTY OF
C
ONNECTICUT
,
S.
M
ICHAEL
D
EROSA
,
L
IBERTARIAN
P
ARTY OF
C
ONNECTICUT
,
E
LIZABETH
G
ALLO
,
J
OANNE
P.
P
HILIPS
,
A
NN
C.
R
OBINSON
,
R
OGER
C.
V
ANN
,
A
SSOCIATION OF
CT
L
OBBYISTS
,
and B
ARRY
W
ILLIAMS
,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
J
EFFREY
G
ARFIELD
,
R
ICHARD
B
LUMENTHAL
,
P
ATRICIA
H
ENDEL
,
R
OBERT
N.
W
ORGAFTIK
,
J
ACLYN
B
ERNSTEIN
,
R
EBECCA
M.
D
OTY
,
E
NID
J
OHNS
O
RESMAN
,
D
ENNIS
R
ILEY
,
M
ICHAEL
R
ION
,
S
COTT
A.
S
TORMS
,
S
ISTER
S
ALLY
J.
T
OLLES
, and B
ENJAMIN
B
YCEL
,
Defendants-Appellees,
A
UDREY
B
LONDIN
,
T
OM
S
EVIGNY
,
C
OMMON
C
AUSE OF
CT,
and
C
ONNECTICUT
C
ITIZEN
A
CTION
G
ROUP
,
Intervenor-Defendants-Appellants.
Before K
EARSE
,
C
ABRANES
,
and
H
ALL
,
Circuit Judges.
Appeal from a February 11, 2009 partial final judgment of the United States District Court
for the District of Connecticut (Stefan R. Underhill, Judge) entered after the Court granted summary
judgment to defendants, upholding several provisions of Connecticut’s Campaign Finance Reform
Act (CFRA) against a First Amendment challenge.
We affirm the judgment of the District Court insofar as it upheld certain provisions banning
state contractors and associated individuals from making campaign contributions to candidates for
state office.
2
We reverse the judgment of the District Court insofar as it upheld certain provisions
(a) banning lobbyists from making campaign contributions and (b) banning contractors and
lobbyists from soliciting contributions on behalf of candidates for state office. We hold that those
provisions violate the First Amendment.
In a judgment entered September 2, 2009, the District Court disposed of additional claims
challenging Connecticut’s Citizen Election Program, a part of the CFRA that provides public funds
to candidates running for state office. We address an appeal of the September 2, 2009 judgment in a
separately filed opinion.
R.
B
ARTLEY
H
ALLORAN
,
Farmington, Connecticut, for
plaintiffs-appellants Association of CT Lobbyists and Barry Williams.
M
ARK
J.
L
OPEZ
, Lewis, Clifton & Nikolaidis, P.C., New
York, New York (Benjamin Sahl, American Civil Liberties
Union Foundation, New York, New York and David J.
McGuire, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation,
Hartford, Connecticut, on the brief), for the remaining plaintiffs-
appellants.
I
RA
M.
F
EINBERG
, Hogan & Hartson LLP, New York, New
York (Richard Blumenthal, Attorney General, Perry Zinn
Rowthorn and Maura Murphy Osborne, Assistant Attornies
General, Office of the Attorney General of the State of
Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut; Monica Y. Youn and
Angela Migally, Brennan Center for Justice, NYU School of
Law, New York, New York; and David Dunn, Hogan &
Hartson LLP, New York, New York, on the brief), for defendants-
appellees and intervenor-defendants-appellees.
Justin R. Clark and Peter J. Martin, Pepe & Hazard LLP,
Hartford, Connecticut, for amicus curiae the Republican Party of
Connecituct in support of plaintiffs-appellants.
J
OSÉ
A.
C
ABRANES
,
Circuit Judge:
This is the second of two opinions in which we consider a constitutional challenge to certain
provisions of Connecticut’s Campaign Finance Reform Act (CFRA).