Political Contributions

This wikilog article is a draft, it was not published yet.

by: Abassos • April 28, 2010 • no comments

The obscure criminal statute addressed this week by the Oregon Supreme Court is ORS 260.402, requiring that political contributions be made in the name of the person whose money it is. Defendants convinced the trial court that the statute violates the Free Speech clauses of both the U.S. and Oregon constitutions. Both the appellate and now the Oregon Supreme Court disagree. The opinion goes deep into the weeds on free speech law, citing everything from the Corrupt Practices Act to Blackwell. At the end of the day though, the ruling is that the statute doesn't seem to the Court to be any more restrictive of free expression than other clearly Constitutional laws like the one in Buckley v. Valeo which requires disclosure of the identity of a contributor. State v. Moyer