A federal appeals court ruled today that the state can’t require two nonprofits to register as “political committees,” upholding the ruling of a federal judge last year, according to a news release issued by the nonprofit organizations Wednesday.
The appellate decision comes nearly 11 months after federal judge Judith Herrera said that New Mexico Youth Organized (NMYO) and the SouthWest Organizing Project (SWOP) couldn’t be forced by the state to register as “political committees.”
The 2009 court decision came after the state attempted to force the two nonprofits to disclose the origin of the money that had paid for mailers that were critical of state lawmakers in early 2008. Judge Herrera said the two nonprofits were protected by their First Amendment right to free speech and that Secretary of State Mary Herrera was unable to regulate that speech.
The appellate court’s decision today upheld Judge Herrera’s ruling, saying “we hold that the attempt to regulate NMYO and SWOP as political committees is unconstitutional as applied.”
Representatives from both nonprofits applauded Wednesday’s decision. A call seeking comment from the office of New Mexico Attorney General Gary King, who appealed last year’s ruling, was not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon.
“The decision by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirms the right of nonprofit organizations to hold public officials accountable,” said Matt Brix, CEO for the Center for Civic Policy, which sponsored NMYO. “It also affirms the right of nonprofit organizations to educate the public and engage them in their democracy. We hope, with this decision, that this matter can finally be put to rest.”
SWOP Executive Director Robby Rodriguez added in the release:
“The decision by the 10th Circuit today validated what we’ve said all along, which is that Attorney General Gary King was inexplicably trying to abridge our right to free speech,” said Rodriguez. “And his pursuit of the case despite well established law has had a chilling effect on free speech in this state.”
UPDATED: Phil Sisneros, spokesman for Attorney General Gary King, called back a little after 4:30 p.m. to say:
“We are currently carefully reviewing the decision and considering our options on how to respond.”