Indiana Voluntary Firemen's Ass'n, Inc. v. Pearson

700 F. Supp. 421, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13499, 1988 WL 127153
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedNovember 29, 1988
DocketIP 87-1052-C
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 700 F. Supp. 421 (Indiana Voluntary Firemen's Ass'n, Inc. v. Pearson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Indiana Voluntary Firemen's Ass'n, Inc. v. Pearson, 700 F. Supp. 421, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13499, 1988 WL 127153 (S.D. Ind. 1988).

Opinion

BARKER, District Judge.

CONTENTS

I. Background...............................................................424

II. Analysis..................................................................426

A. Preliminary Issues....................................................426

1. Ripeness.........................................................426

2. Standing.........................................................427

a. The Plaintiff Percy M. Armstrong............... 429

b. The Plaintiffs Indiana Volunteer Firemen’s Association and Professional Firefighters’ Union of Indiana..................430

c. The Plaintiff Daniel L. Yuska.................................430

3. Eleventh Amendment Immunity and Abstention ...................431

*424 B. The Merits of the Plaintiffs’ Claims...................................433

1. Overbreadth: Indiana Code § 23-7-8-1’s Application to Non-Charities ............................................................433

2. Overbreadth: Indiana Code § 23-7-8-6’s Alleged Facial Violation of the First Amendment...........................................435

a. Recent Supreme Court Precedent .............................435

b. Threshold Inquiry: Does the Statute Impact Upon Activities Fully Protected by the First Amendment?...................437

c. Secondary Inquiry: Is the Statute the Least Restrictive Means of Promoting a Substantial State Interest?..................438

i. The State Interest .......................................439

ii. The Tailoring of the Statutory Provisions ..................440

(a) Indiana Code § 23-7-8-6(a)(l) & (2)....................441

(b) Indiana Code § 23-7-8-6(a)(3)..........................442

(c) Indiana Code § 23 — 7—8—6(b)............................444

(d) Indiana Code § 23-7-8-6(c)............................447

3. Severability......................................................448

III. Conclusion................................................................448

ENTRY

This case presents a fundamental question concerning the scope of protection afforded by the first amendment’s right of free speech. More specifically, this court is asked to determine whether an Indiana statute requiring professional fundraising solicitors to divulge to potential donors certain details about the financial arrangements between themselves as professional solicitors and their represented charities is unconstitutionally overbroad under the first amendment to the United States Constitution.

I. Background

On April 16, 1987, the 105th General Assembly of the State of Indiana enacted Senate Enrolled Act Number 484, an act designed to amend certain provisions of the Professional Fundraiser Consultant and Solicitor Registration Statute [the Statute], Indiana Code Ann. §§ 23-7-8-1 to -8 (Burns 1984). The amendments effected by the Act took force on September 1, 1987. See Ind.Code § 1-1-3-3. As amended, the Statute imposes a number of restrictions on the activities of professional fundraiser consultants and professional solicitors [hereinafter referred to collectively as “professional solicitors”] whenever those professionals desire to work on behalf of charitable organizations. For instance, under the statute professional solicitors are required to register annually with the consumer protection division of the office of the state attorney general. Ind. Code § 23-7-8-2. As part of that registration, the Statute requires that professional solicitors reveal such details as the “names and addresses of all officers, employees, and agents who are actively involved in fundraising” and “the name or names under which [they] intend[] to solicit contributions.” Ind.Code § 23-7-8-2(a)(l) to -(5). The amended Statute also demands that professional solicitors enter into only written contracts with charitable organizations and that copies of those contracts be filed with the consumer protection division along with “[t]he projected dates when soliciting will begin and end” and “[t]he location and telephone number from where solicitation will be conducted.” Ind.Code § 23-7-8-2(d) & (e).

Two particular sections of the Statute, however, are directly relevant to the present litigation. Indiana Code section 23-7-8-1 sets out the definitions of a number of terms used throughout the Statute. Specifically, “charitable organization” is defined as “any organization described in section 501 of the Federal Internal Reve *425 nue Code,” and “professional solicitor” is defined as expressly excluding from its scope “a charitable organization or an officer, employee, member, or volunteer of a charitable organization.” Ind.Code § 23-7-8-1. This same section also sets up a two-tiered definition for the statutory term “solicit.” One form of solicitation is described as the sale of “any advertisment, advertising space, membership, or tangible item ... when or where in connection with [such] a sale ... any statement is made that the whole or any part of the proceeds from the sale will be used for any charitable purpose or benefit any charitable organization.” Ind.Code § 23-7-8-1(2) [hereinafter a “subdivision (2) solicitation”]. The second form of solicitation is defined as any other type of request, made “directly or indirectly, [for] financial assistance in any form on the representation that the financial assistance will be used for a charitable purpose.” Ind.Code § 23-7-8-1(1) [hereinafter a “subdivision (1) soliciation”].

A second section of the Statute, Indiana Code section 23-7-8-6, in turn, sets out two different categories of disclosure requirements, one for each type of solicitation.

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700 F. Supp. 421, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13499, 1988 WL 127153, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/indiana-voluntary-firemens-assn-inc-v-pearson-insd-1988.