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1A Auto, Inc., et al. v. Michael Sullivan, Director, Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance

Paid petition · Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, No. SJC-12413 · judgment September 6, 2018

Certiorari denied · May 20, 2019
Pre-decision estimate: 7% cert probability (95% interval 4%–10%)

Before the decision, about 1.6× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and a business petitioner.

Questions presented

Massachusetts bans for-profit businesses from contributing money to political candidates or committees, but allows unions and nonprofits to do so. Mass. Gen. Laws c. 55, § 8. The lower court rejected Petitioners’ First Amendment challenge to this ban, relying on FEC v. Beaumont, 539 U.S. 146 (2003), although it acknowledged that Beaumont’s reasoning conflicts with recent decisions. It also denied Petitioners’ Equal Protection Clause challenge, concluding that contribution limits that satisfy intermediate First Amendment scrutiny cannot receive strict scrutiny, and therefore must be upheld under the Fourteenth Amendment. This case therefore presents the questions:

  1. Should Beaumont be overruled because it conflicts with more recent decisions of this Court and insufficiently protects freedom of speech and association?

  2. Should contribution limits that impose different limits on different classes of donors receive strict scrutiny?

  3. Does Mass. Gen. Laws c. 55, § 8 violate the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause by banning businesses, but not unions and non-profit organizations, from making political contributions?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Jacob H. Huebert
Liberty Justice Center

For respondent
Julia Eleanor Kobick
Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Amicus briefs
4 cert-stage

Proceedings

  1. May 20 2019
    Petition DENIED.
  2. May 13 2019
    Supplemental brief of respondent Michael Sullivan, Director, Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance filed. (Distributed)
  3. Apr 30 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/16/2019.
  4. Apr 26 2019
    Reply of petitioners 1A Auto, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed)
  5. Apr 12 2019
    Brief of respondent Michael Sullivan, Director, Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance in opposition filed.
  6. Feb 20 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including April 30, 2019.
  7. Feb 15 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 1, 2019 to April 30, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
  8. Jan 30 2019
    Response Requested. (Due March 1, 2019)
  9. Jan 23 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/15/2019.
  10. Jan 09 2019
    Brief amicus curiae of Landmark Legal Foundation filed.
  11. Jan 09 2019
    Brief amicus curiae of Liberty Justice Center filed.
  12. Jan 04 2019
    Brief amicus curiae of Fiscal Alliance Foundation filed.
  13. Jan 04 2019
    Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation filed.
  14. Dec 10 2018
    Blanket Consent filed by Petitioners, 1A Auto, Inc., et al.
  15. Dec 05 2018
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 9, 2019)