Share
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered California to stop collecting the names and addresses of top donors to charities.
The justices voted 6-3 along ideological lines to side with two nonprofit groups, including one with links to billionaire Charles Koch. The groups argued that California’s policy of collecting the information violates the First Amendment.
The nonprofits had drawn strong support from groups across the political spectrum, including the American Civil Liberties Union and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
California had defended its policy by saying that the information’s collection was necessary to prevent fraud. But Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a majority opinion joined by the court’s other conservatives that there is a “dramatic mismatch” between California’s interest in preventing wrongdoing by charities and its donor information requirement.
“The upshot is that California casts a dragnet for sensitive donor information from tens of thousands of charities each year, even though that information will become relevant in only a small number of cases involving filed complaints,” Roberts wrote.
Justice Sotomayor Warns of Consequences
In a dissent for the court’s three liberals, Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned of the decision’s consequences.
“Today’s analysis marks reporting and disclosure requirements with a bull’s-eye. Regulated entities who wish to avoid their obligations can do so by vaguely waving toward First Amendment ‘privacy concerns,'” she said.
California requires all charities that collect money from state residents to give the state an IRS form identifying their largest contributors. The information is not supposed to be disclosed publicly. Just three other states, Hawaii, New Jersey and New York, require charities to provide the IRS form.
A federal appeals court had upheld California’s practice, ruling that the information serves the important state goal of preventing charities from committing fraud. The information was unlikely to be released publicly, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said.
The two groups that had challenged California’s requirements are the Michigan-based Thomas More Law Center and Americans for Prosperity Foundation, a charitable organization connected to the primary political organization supported by Koch and his brother, David, who died in 2019. Koch’s organizations have spent hundreds of millions of dollars supporting Republican candidates and conservative policies, making them frequent targets of attacks by Democrats.
RELATED TOPICS:
Tatum to Miss Remainder of Playoffs After Achilles Tendon Surgery
12 hours ago
Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help Identifying Shooting Suspect
12 hours ago
MLB Reinstates Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, Making Them Hall of Fame Eligible
12 hours ago
Global Eggs Completes Acquisition in US, Closes New Deal in Europe
14 hours ago
‘I Never Said He Called My Son the N-Word.’ Fresno Unified Trustee Thomas Tries to Erase Accusation Against Former Bullard Coach
15 hours ago
Fresno Unified Substitute Teacher Arrested in Online Child Exploitation Case
7 hours ago
Categories

Fresno Unified Substitute Teacher Arrested in Online Child Exploitation Case

Investors Buy Fig Garden Village. How Much Did It Sell For?

Fresno County DA Wants Teens Tried as Adults in Caleb Quick Murder

Tatum to Miss Remainder of Playoffs After Achilles Tendon Surgery

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help Identifying Shooting Suspect
