USA Today: Supreme Court rules for conservative charities in challenge to donor disclosure

USA Today: Supreme Court rules for conservative charities in challenge to donor disclosure

Paul Seamus Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation for Common Cause, noted that the Supreme Court has repeatedly pointed to the government's interest in disclosure of political donors in past cases. And Ryan noted that Roberts did not embrace the much higher standard governments would have had to meet to impose disclosure requirements that some of the groups had sought.

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted two conservative charities to keep their largest donors anonymous in a splintered opinion that places stricter limits on when governments may require groups to disclose financial information.

The opinion, which was more broad than some experts predicted, raised questions about the court’s commitment to similar disclosure requirements in campaign finance.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for a 6-3 majority, with the court’s conservative wing mostly lining up against its three liberal members. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissent in which she asserted that the majority had placed a “bull’s-eye” on reporting and disclosure requirements. …

Several of the groups sought to separate the issue of disclosure by charities from campaign finance laws, which require candidates and many different types of political groups to offer itemized reports of most of their donors.

Paul Seamus Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation for Common Cause, noted that the Supreme Court has repeatedly pointed to the government’s interest in disclosure of political donors in past cases. And Ryan noted that Roberts did not embrace the much higher standard governments would have had to meet to impose disclosure requirements that some of the groups had sought.