Supreme Court rules for freedom of association on California donor transparency law

The Supreme Court blocked California’s efforts to bring transparency to nonprofit charities as a way to track possible misconduct of major donors. The Court ruled 6-3, with three liberal judges in dissent, that the law violated the First Amendment’s right to freedom of association. (The New York Times, July 1, 2021, by Adam Liptak)

Some Democrats are worried that the ruling will give more influence to dark money but some, the NAACP and CAIR included, support the ruling as a defense against the government using the information against minority groups. For certain the ruling makes it tough sledding for campaign disclosure laws and campaign contribution laws. (NPR, July 1, 2021, by Domenico Montanaro)

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