Doe v. Martin

404 F. Supp. 753, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15630
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedOctober 22, 1975
DocketCiv. A. 75-0083
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 404 F. Supp. 753 (Doe v. Martin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doe v. Martin, 404 F. Supp. 753, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15630 (D.D.C. 1975).

Opinions

LEVENTHAL, Circuit Judge:

This civil action challenges on constitutional grounds certain disclosure and filing requirements of the 1974 District of Columbia Campaign Finance Reform and Conflict of Interest Act, Pub.L. 93-376, 88 Stat. 446, recently enacted to regulate political campaign finance practices during local elections in the District of Columbia. The Act requires, among other things, public disclosure both of names of contributors and recipients of political expenditures made during a campaign for nomination or election to the office of Mayor, or member of the City Council, School Board or Neighborhood Advisory Council. This Act closely followed enactment of the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, Pub.L. 93-198, 87 Stat. 774, granting [755]*755voting privileges to the citizens of the District of Columbia upon their acceptance of a proposed charter for the city’s government.

The District Court initially certified the questions presented as substantial and this three-judge court was convened. Defendants, the D. C. Board of Elections and Ethics and its members, who are charged with enforcing the statute, now ask that the three-judge court be dissolved and have also moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground it fails to state a cause of action. Both these questions were heard by the three-judge court after submission of briefs.

Plaintiffs sought an exemption for the Socialist Workers Party from the disclosure provisions of the Act.1 The Board by advisory opinion found that it did not have the power to grant such an exemption. Plaintiffs contend that in the absence of such an exemption the Act must be declared unconstitutional. The gravamen of the complaint is that disclosure of the names of contributors contributing $50 or more and the disclosure of expenditures made to others assisting the Party will subject those whose names are required to be disclosed to harassment by the FBI, employers and others.'

We quickly dispose of the contention that a three-judge court is not required under Goosby v. Osser, 409 U. S. 512, 518, 93 S.Ct. 854, 35 L.Ed.2d 36 (1972). The precise issues here raised have never been decided by the United States Supreme Court and there is clearly room for disagreement on the issue presented given the conflict between earlier cases upholding disclosure statutes and the subsequent development of the doctrine of associational privacy. Compare Burroughs and Cannon v. United States, 290 U.S. 534, 54 S.Ct. 287, 78 L. Ed. 484 (1934), and United States v. Harriss, 347 U.S. 612, 74 S.Ct. 808, 98 L.Ed. 989 (1954), with N. A. A. C. P. v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U.S. 449, 78 S.Ct. 1163, 2 L.Ed.2d 1488 (1958), and Shelton v. Tucker, 364 U.S. 479, 81 S.Ct. 247, 5 L.Ed.2d 231 (1960). See also Printing Industries of Gulf Coast v. Hill, 382 F.Supp. 801 (S.D.Texas), vacated and remanded for reconsideration as to mootness, 422 U.S. 937, 95 S.Ct. 2670, 45 L.Ed.2d 664 (1975).

I.

Turning to the merits, the motion to dismiss must of course be considered on the assumption that the facts pled can be established and, in particular, that the names, addresses and places of employment of those assisting the Party, absent any strictures to the contrary, will be noted by the FBI and others and that inquiries or other detrimental social pressures will ensue affecting employment and privacy.

This case presents the difficult question whether a generally valid law requiring disclosure of modest contributions to political parties can have constitutional application to an unpopular minority party, which alleges past harassment by Federal agencies in support of a claim of invalidity of the law as applied. This case also presents difficulties that did not have to be reached in the lawsuit of Buckley v. Valeo.2 While [756]*756that was an action by minority parties and potential independent candidates, there was no significant showing of harassment of persons contributing to such parties or candidate. The present case, involving the Socialist Workers Party, brings before the court affidavits that the party’s members have been harassed by other government agencies— the FBI; the Civil Service Commission; draft boards — and by private employers, in at least some measure after the FBI advised them of the employee’s membership in this party. At least the affidavits on this point would entitle the plaintiffs to a trial if this matter should be considered to affect the outcome.

Such harassment, if proved, would significantly infringe on plaintiff’s associational rights. In effect, the contribution disclosure requirement allegedly exacts as the price for monetary support of a candidate a willingness to risk not only social disapproval but harassment encompassing economic reprisals, loss of employment, and physical coercion and violence. Because the harassment potential is not confined to any one identifiable agency or group, preventive litigative relief is not a realistic remedy. An, indicator of the substantiality of plaintiffs' fears is provided !by a ruling of the Minnesota Ethics Commission — an agency empowered under the Minnesota Ethics in Government Act of 1974 3 to grant exemptions from disclosing the identity of contributors to political associations where disclosure would expose individuals to “economic reprisals, loss of employment or threat of physical coercion.” The Commission granted such an exemption to the Minnesota Socialist Workers 1974 Campaign Committee following hearings presenting episodes of the kind of harassment alleged in the complaint pending before us.4

[757]*757The Congressional enactment before the court includes a $10 contribution record-keeping provision and a $50 contribution disclosure requirement.5 We find that the $10 contribution report requirements of the D. C. election law contains an implicit provision against disclosure except that which is inextricably and unavoidably involved in the processes of verification and audit. Giving those records a confidential status effectuates the Congressional audit provisions, while avoiding undue encroachment on associational interests through disclosure of even minimal financial support. See Buckley v. Valeo, supra note 2, 519 F.2d at 864-65.

II.

In considering the contention that harassment resulting from contribution disclosure would unconstitutionally infringe on plaintiff’s associational rights, we start from two basic postulates.

First.

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Bluebook (online)
404 F. Supp. 753, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15630, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doe-v-martin-dcd-1975.